


Since U Been Gone

by corikane



Category: Pitch Perfect (2012)
Genre: Break Up, Coming Out, Drama, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-05
Updated: 2013-02-05
Packaged: 2017-11-28 07:14:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 34,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/671719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corikane/pseuds/corikane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jesse breaks up with Beca - in a public performance. The Bellas are furious, the Trebles self-righteous, and two ex-Bellas have their own problems with this break up.<br/>(No copyright infringement intended - or I own nothing.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"... and that was another class a performance of last year's ICCA winners, the Barden Bellas. What do you think, John?"  
"Right you are, Gail. I never thought I'd say this but these girls are doing it like good ol' boys."  
"John sometimes you're so wrong, everything else seems right - there is nothing old or boy-ish about the Bellas," Gail disagreed with her co-commentator at the ICCA Regionals 2013.  
"You should know. Rumor has it, you had one of them turn you after the finals. The Bellas' very own sapphic soprano Cynthia Rose Delaney perhaps?"  
"Oh, John, this is a story I'll never tell and you'll never hear," Gail gave back smiling confidently.  
"Not even if I say please?"  
"Not even if you write me a check. But now here come the Barden Treblemakers and if we can believe the Trebles' captain, Jesse Swanson, we're in for a surprise tonight..."

The stage had gone completely dark after the Bellas took their seats in the audience. It took the room a while to settle down after the great performance the girls had given but finally the room was so quiet that you could hear the low "zumzumzumzum" from one of the Trebles, the first indication of what was to come. Cynthia Rose leaned forward from her seat and whispered to Beca:  
"Since U Been Gone, last year's audition song," as Beca wouldn't have known since she was a little late for it.  
More Trebles joined the first with the beats of the song. And then a spot brightened center stage and there stood Jesse:  
"Here's the thing we started out friends. It was cool but it was all pretend. Yeah, yeah, since you've been gone," and he lifted his arm on 'you' and pointed straight at Beca. The Bellas captain stared. Was he actually doing this? Here? Tonight?  
"You dedicated you took the time. Wasn't long till I called you mine. Yeah, yeah, since you've been gone," and then the lights went on again in a flash, and while Jesse still sang Since U Been Gone, most of the other Trebles started with their rendition of These Boots Are Made For Walking, dancing and stomping in cowboy boots. Only Donald and Unicycle beatboxed for Jesse. Beca would have been very impressed with the whole set if it wasn't aimed at her directly. The crowd, on the other hand, liked it, loved it, in fact. The audience sprang to its feet, stomping with the boys on the stage, all in dark red cowboy hats, except for Jesse who wore the customary Trebles blazer and sneakers. And he looked at Beca through the whole set, not even his dancing could stop him from directing the song at her. The Bellas around her looked at their captain, Aubrey Posen, two rows behind her friends, looked at Beca as well. But Beca Mitchell remained impassive, staring at the backs of those who had stood up two rows infront.   
"Aca-believe it!" Amy huffed next to her.  
And it was really hard to believe that Jesse Swanson would do something like this. Beca just couldn't believe it, she sat as if in shock, couldn't say anything, couldn't do anything. And then the performance ended and the Trebles made their way off the stage for the last a capella group of the night, already celebrating their victory - and by the reaction of the audience it was indeed a victory. They were about to take their seats infront of the Bellas - Unicycle making a show of letting Jesse go first since that would put him right infront of Beca. As Jesse reached his seat, he turned, leaned over and said:  
"Oh, by the way, it's over."  
There had been no need to say it, really, only that he wanted to. Of course, he had waited till this precise moment which was so reminishened of their getting together at the finals, their first kiss. Beca just looked at him, but then Cynthia Rose jumped up out of her seat.  
"I'ma gonna kill him," she groused and tried to get at Jesse but his boys were fending her off and a squabble ensued. Beca finally got up, roused out of her shock by her girls attacking the Trebles. She had to do something.   
"Stop it, girls. Damn it, we could get disqualified. Now, sit down." She slipped past Amy, directly infront of Cynthia Rose and looked at her. "Let go of him, Cynthia, it's okay."  
She told her friend and the dark-skinned Bella let go of Donald's bolo.  
"This ain't right," Cynthia Rose grumbled but sat down. Beca looked back at Jesse who just looked back at her. He didn't smile, he didn't show any kind of emotion and then sat down. The other Trebles followed his example. A tear slipped from Beca's eyes and she brushed it away before she said:  
"I need to go to the ladies' room, excuse me," she slipped out of the row and then hurried up the stairs toward the exit. Stacie was the first to get up to follow but finally all the Bellas went after their captain. Amy shared a look with Aubrey who had watched the scene from her own seat, unable to do anything about it. She had been glad when Beca had called the Bellas back - getting into a fight with another a cappella group could indeed get them disqualified from the whole competition - but her insides burned at what Jesse had done.

Beca stood infront of the mirror in the ladies' room, tears running over her cheeks. She looked up as Amy entered and could hear the other Bellas' indignant voices from the hall.  
"Hey, Beca," the Tasmanian said in a faux cheerful voice. "How are you?"  
Beca looked away from Amy, not wanting the other woman to see her face but at the same time fighting the urge to run to her friend and let her comfort her in a bear hug. She swallowed back a sob.  
"The other girls wanted me to say some things: Cynthia Rose said that if you want her to she is going to call some friends - and I think she meant some butch lesbians - and they would give Jesse the kind of bitch-slap that leave mothers not recognizing their child. Stacie offered to pull a John Tucker on him. I didn't know what that means, so Stacie explained that she would seduce Jesse, make him fall in love with her and then break his heart into a million pieces... I'm not sure how that will help you, though..." Beca suppressed a grin at this. Her friends were the best. "Lilly whispered something about where to store dead bodies but I hope she was joking. The others would mainly like to bash some Treble heads in and I'm cool with that. So, just tell us which one it should be," Amy concluded and then turned to leave Beca alone. She knew from experience that Beca wasn't a touchy-feely person, not someone who was comfortable with emotional displays and she wanted to respect that - other than Chloe who by now would have had Beca in a half-Nelson-like hug with no regard of personal space whatever, but that was Chloe and nobody quite knew how to do that but Chloe.  
"Amy," Beca said before her friend could leave. The blonde turned. Beca took a deep breath to calm herself and then looked at Amy. "That's very sweet of you guys, even Stacie, but I think... Jesse had his reasons for this."  
"You mean he's been brainwashed by Bumper, maybe?" Beca smiled but shook her head.  
"I haven't been a very good girlfriend lately," the brunette confessed.  
"So? I haven't been a good girlfriend in my whole life but if one of my guys had ever pulled a stunt like that I would have knocked him into the next millenium. His nipples would have burned so badly that he would have tried to bite them off, I swear," Amy protested at Beca's words. "This has nothing to do with you not being a good girlfriend - and I doubt very mucht that it is even true. It has everything to do with him being a jealous arse and an aca-douchebag."  
"Why do you say he's jealous?" Beca asked. It was a truth but she didn't know that the Bellas knew about this. Amy blushed a little and grinned uncomfortably.  
"Ahhhhhhmmmm, yeah, so... are you coming?" She was obviously not going to answer Beca's question and the brunette found that it wasn't really that important. Maybe one of the Trebles had told her that Jesse wasn't happy about the amount of time she spent with the Bellas.  
"Give me a minute?" Amy nodded.  
"Sure, we're outside if you need us."  
"Oh, and Amy?" The blonde turned once more before leaving the ladies' room. "No pitch- or bitch-slapping of any of the Trebles, okay? I think we'll make second place easy and being thrown out of the competition would suck." Amy nodded before she left Beca alone.  
The Bellas captain looked at herself in the mirror. Her nose was red, her eyes swollen, there were tear-streaks all over her cheeks and chin. She felt miserable, hurt, humiliated - which was probably the worst of the three - but there was one tiny corner of her being that actually felt the way Kelly Clarkson had described in her song, a part that breathed easier now that it was over.


	2. Chapter 2

The Bellas left after the announcement - they had lost to the Trebles but would still go to the semi finals. Nobody was in the mood for a party, of course, though some of the girls talked about getting drunk and vandalizing the BTM-house. Aubrey had stayed behind and in the overall mood of anger and desolation nobody had noticed. She was now standing in the entrance hall of the University of Caroline Performing Arts Center and waited for the Trebles. Who came, boisterous, laughing, slapping each other's backs. It was exactly the kind of cocky behaviour Aubrey had expected of them.  
And then they noticed her standing infront of the huge windows - one of which Beca had destroyed the year before - alone. Donald saw her first and said:  
"Oh-oh, now we're all gonna get a spanking." He grinned at Jesse but the Trebles captain didn't answer with one of his own. He looked at Aubrey, then his eyes went in search for the other Bellas. The other Trebles, meanwhile, laughed at Donald's joke, Unicycle going so far as to say that Donald probably knew best since he'd been with Aubrey.  
The tall blonde rolled her eyes as she heard this. Donald and she had a few fun weeks last summer, nothing out of the ordinary, just a fling. Nobody had fallen in love, nobody had been hurt when it was over and Aubrey was quite sure Donald had by now told his friends all about it. But that had been something completely different from the relationship Jesse has had with Beca, it was okay to make fun of a summer fling but what Jesse had done - that was simply not okay.  
"Can I talk to you for a minute, Jesse?" She asked when the boys came closer. But before Jesse could answer, Benji put himself forward:  
"Listen, Aubrey, this is no reason to fight over. We won, it's..."  
"Benji," was all the former Bella said and he stopped talking. Her eyes went back to Jesse and he made a face but went over to her.  
"If you need help, my brother, we're right here," Donald piped up which earned him one of Aubrey's steely gazes. He just smiled at her lazily.  
"What do you want, Aubrey?"  
"I don't know, maybe an explanation of what has gotten into you? Have you completely lost your mind?" she snapped at him.  
"I don't believe that what's happened between Beca and I is any of your business. So, I would appreciate it..."  
"You're right, it was none of my business but then you made it everyone's business by humiliating Beca infront of that whole audience!" Her voice was louder now. It was obvious that she had a hard time controlling it. And when Aubrey Posen lost control it wasn't a pretty sight.  
Jesse pressed his teeth together, he was angry, too. Mostly at the small, nagging voice that told him that she was right, that he never should have done what some of the other Trebles had suggested in a drunken stupor.  
"Whatever made you do that, Jesse? And whatever made you all agree to doing this? I thought you liked Beca. Donald, Benji. You like Beca, don't you?" She turned toward all of the Trebles now and some of them looked rather ashamed at this. Yes, they liked Beca, or they had liked Beca. But the bro-code was more important than that.  
"Listen, I did what I thought was right. Beca's not the only one who's been hurt, you know?" Jesse defended himself half-heartedly.  
"You have a right to be hurt, Jesse. But pulling a stunt like this... that's beyond mean. She sang a love song to you, Jesse, she made our final's number all about you - and this is how you repay her? What could she have possibly done to deserve this?"  
Jesse pushed his chin up indignantly and shook his head. He wasn't going to say.  
"Don't you wanna say it or don't you know?" Aubrey snapped again. "You know, I thought you were a decent guy once. Obviously, I was wrong. About all of you." And with these words Aubrey turned and left the Auditorium. The Trebles stared after her, only Benji's eyes went to his captain. But Jesse stared after Aubrey and after a couple of quiet seconds he pushed the trophy he was still holding at Unicycle and left the buildng.

Beca unlocked the door to her room at Baker Hall. She had decided to once again apply for a dorm room this year instead of sharing an apartement with one of the Bellas. Back then she had thought it would be a good idea to not have Bellas around her 24/7 but then she had met her roommate, one Gracie Lou Van Borden of Hootersville, Oklahoma (Beca had at first thought this was a joke but apparently it hadn't been) and had come to regret it since. Fortunately, Gracie Lou wasn't there when she stepped into the room.  
Beca sighed and plopped onto her bed. She buried her face in her pillow.  
"Damn you, Jesse," she said. "Damn you, damn you!" She started hitting her pillow hard but after a few times found that all strength left her and felt tears well up once again. She couldn't get an image out of her head, one of Jesse standing on stage, pointing at her. 'Worst girlfriend ever,' it said. And that was probably what she was, it was certainly how she felt.  
Her phone roused her from her thoughts, it vibrated with a text. Since Beca hadn't bothered to take off her jacket - or her shoes, for that matter - she now just reached into her pocket and pulled her phone out. 'Chloe' the display simply said and the Bellas captain sighed again. She had promised Chloe to call her after the competition - in good confidence that they would win. They hadn't and she had forgotten to call her best friend.  
The text read:  
Are you guys too busy celebrating to even call?  
Beca took a deep breath, at the same time rubbing her eyes and sitting up. Then she scrolled for Chloe's number and made the connection. The call was answered before the second ring and Chloe's cheerful voice greeted her:  
"Hey, finally. How did it go?"  
"We lost," Beca answered and silence greeted her.  
"You lost?"  
"Yeah, the boys... the Trebles, they won," Beca confirmed. Again there was a moment's silence before Chloe said:  
"I'm so sorry, Becs. They must have been really good, I mean, I saw your number... it was awesome."  
"It wasn't as good as the Trebles'," and Beca nearly choked on these words. That image once again invaded her head, the accusing finger pointed at her. Beca bit her lip, simultaneously shaking her head.  
"Are you alone? It seems so quiet..."  
"Yeah, I'm in my room now. Gracie Lou isn't here, either, so..."  
"Why aren't you with the others? Don't tell me everybody's gone home already. I know the Bellas better than that," Chloe said. Her voice sounded worried, which wasn't surprising. During the summer they had spent almost two weeks on Martha's Viineyard where the Beales had a beach house. They had talked a lot, about Beca and her family, about her need for privacy but also her tendency to cut herself off from people. They would also go to the beach and have fun but in retrospect, Beca had come to cherish their talks more, especially since she had come back and hadn't found anyone to talk to like that.  
"They're over at Amy's. I wasn't in the mood for drinking and sulking much, so I came back here," Beca told her.  
"You should be with them now, Becs. You're their captain," Chloe admonished though Beca detected an understanding note in her voice.  
"You know me, I... Aubrey's there. She usually knows what to say to make them feel better." But it didn't quite quench the guilt she now felt toward her fellow Bellas. The simple truth was that she felt too humiliated to even be with her friends. She didn't want to talk about it, or hear about it more. And she knew that alcohol wasn't going to help at all, it would probably only make it worse. She just hoped that Aubrey would keep everyone out of trouble.  
"What did Aubrey say? Was she very disappointed?"  
"She...," but Beca hadn't talked to her. And now that she came to think about it, she hadn't seen Aubrey leave with everyone else. She had probably been devastated and didn't want to talk to Beca who must have looked like a complete failure to her. New tears threatened to fall and, once again, Beca swallowed them down.  
"Hey, have you heard back from that publisher you told me about the other day?" She steered the conversation back from the disaster that had been her night to Chloe's life.  
"Yeah, I have and... they offered me a job," Chloe said, pride obvious in her voice. Beca squealed at this, she was happy for her friend, knowing how much it meant to Chloe.  
"That's fantastic. Where was that again?"  
"Chicago," which put an immediate damper over Beca's mood. One she was not willing to let show, however. This was Chloe's dream, it didn't matter where it happened as long as Chloe was happy.  
"That's so great, I'm so proud of you," Beca said.  
"Thanks, it isn't even the only offer I got. I will have to actually sort throgh three, no, four job offers from publishing houses. It's pretty exciting," but she didn't sound as excited as Beca thought she should.  
"What is wrong?" the Bellas captain asked.  
"Chicago is so far away," Chloe answered.  
"From your family?"  
"From... Barden and all of you," the redhead said sadly.  
"Chloe," Beca began but was interrupted by her friend.  
"I know, Becs, I know. This is my life, my future and I have to think rationally and logically... but that doesn't help when I'm missing you... guys. I... I wouldn't have thought it was going to be this hard to be away from... the singing and Aubrey and Amy and... you."  
"We miss you, too," Beca said and felt it desperately. And she knew that the other girls felt her absence, too. Aubrey was still around, she actually worked on campus as an administrator's assistant and came by often - sometimes Beca thought too often, especially when she was in the mood to criticize her work with the Bellas. But Chloe, she had been like a ray of sunshine that came into the practice hall and made everyone feel better. She cheered people up, she dampened Aubrey's criticism, she gave hugs - and Beca actually found herself missing those a lot. "But this is for you. And it's gonna be great, you're gonna be great, Chlo. And we're going to see each other often, I promise." She heard Chloe smile over the phone.  
"I'm going to come down to see you all before I start working. I want to hear all of your ideas for the Semi's and we're going to make sure you'll kick the Trebles butts then," she enthused.  
"Yeah, that will be great. You can help with the choreo... if you want. Or you can simply watch and visit with friends and relax while you're here..."  
"No, I'll help. It'll be like old times," Chloe said. She sounded happy and Beca tried to be, too. But in her current mood the miles that seperated them now and the even greater distance that awaited them in the future lay heavily on her. She felt that she could hardly breathe. And then there was what had happened tonight, what Jesse had done and her reluctance to tell Chloe about it. She should, she knew because Chloe would call Aubrey and Aubrey would tell her about it anyway... it was just too... humiliating, too hard to admit to. It had been her first real relationship and she had failed so badly at it that her boyfriend felt the need to... build a whole performance around it, a performance that won them the ICCAs.  
"How's Jesse, by the way? I mean, I'm pretty sure I know how he's just this minute... hey, aren't you all with the Trebles? I thought you would totally party together, no matter who'd win?" There they were, the questions Beca would have paid anything to avoid.  
"Ahhhh, no, they... ah, one of the boy's parents had something planned and we weren't invited. I think it must have been one of the new boy's... you know how these parents sometimes are. They think their son is a new superstar until they find out a cappella isn't all that cool..." Chloe laughed.  
"Yeah, that's always a shock," she agreed. "So, how is Jesse?"  
"Oh, he's fine. Makes a lot of headway with his studies... he's gonna be in Hollywood in no time," Beca said and heard her customary sarcasm come through.  
"You'll both be. He's gonna score movies and you'll be the hottest DJ in the city," came the redhead's answer who must have missed Beca's tone.  
"Hot, huh?"  
"Yeah, of course. You're sizzling, Beca Mitchell," Beca couldn't help but smile at the flirting tone and the words. They felt good on her bruised ego.  
"Well, I..." but that was the moment the door opened and Gracie Lou came in. She smiled at Beca, it was as fake as her eye-lashes. "Ah, Gracie Lou just came in. Can we continue this tomorrow, maybe?" Beca thought that maybe tomorrow she would have the guts to tell her friend about Jesse's performance.  
"Sure, but let's skype. I miss your lovely face," Chloe said and Beca giggled.  
"Well, I miss yours, too. You just don't find eyes like yours in real life," she teased.  
"The girlfriend," she heard her roommate mutter and caught an eyeroll of the vuluptuous blonde who was busy sorting through some clothes.  
"What was that?" Chloe asked.  
"Nothing, just GL trying to make a joke. I'll talk to you tomorrow... I... I..."  
"I miss you, too, Becs," Chloe simply stated what was so difficult for Beca to utter, especially with her nosy roommate around. The brunette closed her eyes.  
"I miss you, Chlo, and... I'm looking forward to you coming to Barden," she then said with more confidence than she felt.  
"It won't be long, I promise. Tell the others hi from me if you see them before tomorrow," she then remembered.  
"Will do. Bye."  
"Bye," Chloe said and then they disconnected.  
Beca stared at her phone sadly.  
"So fucking cute," came from within the doors of the closet.  
"Shut up, Gracie," Beca groused and a blonde head appeared around the closet door, an eyebrow cocked in challenge. Beca wasn't usually outright hostile, she found that her sarcasm did a much better job. But Beca wasn't in the mood for bullshit, tonight, and Gracie Lou had a lot to offer on that count.  
"Uhh, did we have a bad night? Did we maybe lose to some other losers who do it all 'with their mouths'?" Gracie Lou laughed. She enjoyed teasing Beca about being in an a cappella group.  
"It's called singing, Gracie Lou. Not as in your case fellatio," and with these words Beca grabbed her sleeping clothes and her shower kit and left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

"We gotta do something," Cynthia Rose said and it wasn't the first time either. The Bellas were sitting around Amy's living room with long faces, they were drinking what Lilly was mixing and it didn't help their mood at all. "We should just go over there and..."  
"Nonononono," Amy said. "That's a mistake. You heard Beca, she doesn't want any kind of retaliation."  
"But this is not just about her, they whipped our combined asses," Denise piped up and it was such a rare occasion that everybody looked at her. She blushed a little and took another sip from her cup.  
"Yeah, but that was the competition. I mean, they were good...," Jessica felt everybody staring at her and before she could receive a verbal bashing she quickly added: "if completely mislead and mean."  
"They were fucking assholes," Cynthia Rose corrected the mild-mannered blonde. Lilly leaned over to the African-American and whispered something at her. Cynthia smiled.  
"Right you are," she nodded. The other's looked at the duo questioningly but none of them was willing to repeat what Lilly had said. "I think we should go and do some demage. They're pobably still out celebrating. Now or never," Cynthia Rose got up and Lilly was right beside her.  
"Cynthia...," but Amy didn't come very far with her protest as most of the Bellas, even the three newbies, stood up as well.  
"Are you coming, Amy? Jessica?" And they were indeed the only ones still sitting.  
"What if the Trebles are home?" Amy asked.  
"That's even better," Cynthia Rose gave back. Amy got up. "You're coming with?"  
"Just so I can see that this doesn't escalate. Jess you can stay..."  
"If everybody's going I'm going," the blonde said and some of the girls smiled at her. That was the spirit, after all. They had to stand as one Bella, this was what Aubrey had taught them.  
And that was who they encountered when Stacie pulled the door open: one Bella. Aubrey looked at them, at their determined expressions, at the fists some of the girls had formed of their hands.  
"And where do you think you're going?" She asked sternly before she stepped into Amy's apartment and shut the door forcibly.  
Cynthia Rose huffed.  
"We're going over to the BTM-house," she said.  
"No, you're not. You're staying here. I won't have you destroy what Bellas generations ago have worked so hard to build," Aubrey's voice was steel and many of the girls lost heart over it. Everybody looked to Cynthia Rose.  
"Damn it, Aubrey, they humiliated us. And that Jesse-guy hurt Beca! We can't just sit here and do nothing!"  
"That's exactly what you're going to do," Aubrey answered back. She looked at each Bella in turn. "Do you think Beca wants this? Her friends getting into trouble over her? You should know her better."  
"Beca told us not to do anything about this," Amy said, her voice very quiet.  
"That settles it, then," Aubrey said. "Let's go inside, let's sit down." She pointed towards the living room and the recently abandoned seats. They all shuffled back in, Cynthia Rose the most reluctant of them. Aubrey put her hand on the lesbian's back, she could feel that her friend was wound up. Everybody settled down, some picked up their drinks again. Aubrey looked at the disheartened faces and whipped out her phone.  
"I think you guys need some cheering up," she said and dialed a number.  
"If that's Beca's number you're calling, I don't think there will be much cheering up from her tonight," Amy said. "She was totes..." but the right word wouldn't come to her.  
"Depressed," Stacie helped her out. It was the right word but nobody really wanted to hear it. Their small captain's mood had brought them all down another notch during the short drive home.  
But it wasn't Beca Aubrey called. While it was still ringing, Aubrey put her phone on speaker and laid it down on the table so everyone could hear.  
"Aubrey, hey. I already heard, I'm so sorry," it was Chloe's voice and the tall blonde could see it's immediate effect on some of the faces. Jessica smiled outright, Amy grinned, even Lilly leaned forward a little.  
"Hey, Chloe, we're all here... that is, except for Beca. You're on speaker."  
"Hey, guys, I'm so sorry. I wish I could have been there to cheer you on. I'm sure you were aca-awesome," the redhead enthused.  
"They were," Aubrey confirmed.  
"But the Trebles were better?" Cynthia Rose huffed at that.  
"They were something," she said.  
"Have you talked to Beca?" Aubrey asked.  
"Yeah, we just got off the phone. She's pretty down but that's understandable. But I mean, we were only placed second last year and then we won the competish, so... I don't think you should be too worried about it," Chloe told them in a cheerful voice.  
"Didn't Beca tell you?" Amy wondered aloud.  
"Tell me what?" Everybody seemed to be murmuring about something at that and Chloe couldn't get a straight answer out of her friends.  
"About what Jesse did," Cynthia Rose made herself heard over the chatter.  
"What did Jesse do?" Chloe asked. The room went very quiet all of a sudden and everybody looked up at Aubrey. She was obviously chosen to fill the redhead in.  
"Jesse broke up with Beca - via song. The Trebles sang Since U Been Gone and These Boots Are Made For Walking. And Jesse... he looked at Beca the whole time and... even pointed at her on occasion. It was..."  
"WHAT! That... What... Damn, why didn't she tell me?" Chloe exploded. "He can't just do that! What do regulations... fuck the regulations, what did you do? You can't just let him get away with that!"  
"Damn right!" Cynthia Rose agreed and beat her fist onto the table. Everybody looked up startled.  
"Chloe, you're not helping right now," Aubrey informed her friend.  
"Helping? I didn't think you need my help to flatten some Treble-tiers or to put some sugar into their tanks... oh, the house... how about some new painting?" Chloe seemed to just warm up. "And if someone can get their hands on Jesse's precious movie collection, I would love to HELP make some scratches."  
Cynthia Rose laughed at Chloe's enthusiasm. She hadn't even thought about what they would do once they got to their house but Chloe had some good ideas.  
"That's the spirit," she said and pointed at the phone. Some of the others nodded their heads in agreement, Amy looked up at Aubrey in panic.  
"Chloe, do you know what's at stake here? The Bellas could be disqualified from the competition," the tall blonde reminded her best friend.  
"Fuck the competition! That guy hurt Beca... he's gotta burn for that! And if the other Trebles helped him, they should burn, too," Aubrey was pretty sure Chloe meant it metaphorically but Lilly whispered something about matches and Cynthia's laugh sounded kind of maniacal to her now.  
"That's not gonna happen, guys," Aubrey practically yelled and everyone looked up at her. "Chloe, I know how you're feeling. I was angry, too. I still am. But this isn't a solution. The girls could get suspended or even thrown out for this." Everybody was silent once more. "I talked to Jesse..."  
But that was all she could get out because everybody, including Chloe over the phone, was asking her questions now. Aubrey put up her hand and finally only Chloe was being heard as she couldn't see the gesture:  
"... that scumbag had to say for himself?"  
"Well, he didn't say much. He said that he was hurt..." And that was all she could get out before the Bellas interrupted her once again, this time with their outrage. Aubrey sighed, this wasn't really going according to plan. They seemed to get angrier, not calmer.  
"I know, okay! And don't think I didn't want to scratch his puppy eyes out for it!" the tall blonde yelled over the ruckus and everyone calmed down again. "Damn it! Beca is a Bella and if somebody hurts a Bella, he should bleed! Metaphorically," she said and looked pointedly at Lilly who pouted. "I'm just as angry as you all are. Seeing those dickheads celebrate their victory, gloating over us... damn! But you can't throw away your futures over those guys, they're not worth it. The Bellas are so much better than the Trebles! And they know that and they took their chance to bring our greatest asset down: Beca. And we have to retaliate, yes! But not at the risk of your futures or the risk of losing the Bellas! Don't you see: the Bellas are a home for all of you. You're happier with them, and we can't let the Trebles take that away from us." Aubrey looked into saddened faces, faces that agreed with her. The Bellas had gone from prom queens to social outsiders in one year, they had changed a lot. But it made them better as a group and as individuals. They would lose more than the chance to compete at the ICCAs if they vandalized the Trebles' club house. The dean's office could disband the Bellas and then they would all lose each other.  
"Aubrey's right," Chloe said. Her voice sounded choked. "You need the Bellas, all of you... and me, too. Only... Beca...," and now the redhead was sobbing.  
"Chloe, she's gonna be alright. We're all here for her," Aubrey tried to calm her friend down.  
"Yeah... only..." The sobbing ceased and there was silence on the other end of the phone. "She needs all of us now. I'm coming down."  
"Chloe?"  
"No, it's alright. I'm coming down. All I've got to do in the next two weeks is decide where I wanna work and I can do that at Barden. I'm not going to let Beca down. She's my friend," Chloe said with conviction. "I'm taking the first flight out," she informed her friends.  
Aubrey looked at the other Bellas, some of them smiled, some seemed a little incredulous but also cheered up. Maybe Chloe coming back to Barden was just what everybody needed.  
"Good," Aubrey finally said. "Just text me when you'll arrive and I'll meet you at the airport."  
"Will do. I have to go now and see to some reservations. I will see you all... hopefully tomorrow. Keep an eye on Beca for me, will you?"  
"Of course we will," Amy said and now everybody was smiling.  
"Alright, see you tomorrow, guys. I love you," and that was so Chloe that those who knew had to answer in kind and those who didn't just went along with it.  
"We love you," it came back to Chloe in a chorus and she laughed. Then the line disconnected. Aubrey took a deep breath, she was relieved, yes, but it was even better than that. Chloe was coming home.

Beca couldn't sleep. Whenever she closed her eyes, there was Jesse, pointing at her, singing to her. And she knew this shouldn't effect her as much as it did. She should just put her game-face on, say 'fuck you, bitch' and move on. But dammit, it fucking hurt.  
Beca rolled onto her back, letting her tears roll from the corners of her eyes into her hair. She bit back a sob, not wanting to wake Gracie Lou to have her gloat over her misery. Damn. This was all so fucked up. Why did Jesse do this? Why did he do it like this? In the open, with everyone watching?  
She remembered all the times he had said 'we need to talk.' And how she had answered 'I'm late for practice' or 'I'm meeting Amy, let's talk later.' It had always been the Bellas, as a group or one of her friends. She was always going somewhere, always meeting someone. But she had been so happy... it was strange but the Bellas had made her happier than anything else. Her relationship with Jesse couldn't compete with it, and maybe that had been the problem from the beginning. They had spent a couple of weeks together and things had been good. The semester had been over, Chloe had graduated and gone back to New Hampshire, most of the other girls had visited their families as well. She herself had stayed, safe for a short visit to her mom's. And then Chloe had asked if she would like to come to Martha's Vineyard, and, of course, she had said yes because... she had missed Chloe so much.  
Jesse had said he understood but as the planned week had come to an end and he had asked when she would be back, she had said that she would stay a couple of days longer. He was less understanding about that. He knew they would have little time when classes and practices started again. But Beca didn't listen, she wanted more time with Chloe, more time with her friends when she was back. And there never was enough time for Jesse left. She knew this, she had known this... but it hadn't effected her as it had him. He suffered, she just lived like she's always done: to her own rhythm.  
Could she really blame him that he's finally had enough? No, she couldn't. She had been selfish, self-centered and, yes, she had closed herself off from him. She didn't know why. She should have been happy just being around him. He was her first real boyfriend, not a summer fling, a relationship. But it wasn't enough, he wasn't enough.  
Beca took her phone from the shelf above her and typed a text:  
I know it's my fault, Jesse. I wouldn't listen. Let's just say, I got your message now. Beca.  
She sent it and put her phone back down. She felt slightly better after sending the text but still lay awake for a couple of hours. Finally, her exhaustion won out over her reproaches and she fell into a dreamless slumber.


	4. Chapter 4

Aubrey lifted Chloe's trolley into her trunk and Chloe put her backpack next to it. She looked at her friend, tired but happy, and Aubrey smiled at her.  
"I'm so glad you're here," she squeezed her forearm and Chloe took her hand in hers, squeezing back.  
"Me, too. I'm just sad that I hadn't been at the ICCAs - I should have been there," the redhead took a deep breath.  
"It was your grandma's birthday," Aubrey said lamely.  
"Come on, Aubrey, you know it wasn't my gran's birthday. I just...," Chloe didn't finish the sentence.  
"I know, Chloe, I know," and she did. They had talked about this multiple times during the summer and even before then. Falling in love with a friend was hard, especially when that friend hooked up with someone else instead. "And I don't blame you."  
"That's why you're my best friend," Chloe answered and smiled again.  
"I thought it was because I scare away your stalking ex-boyfriends," Aubrey quipped and the redhead laughed.  
"That's another good reason," she said and then hugged the tall blonde.  
"Alright, get in. Do you want to go to my place first, or should I drive you to campus?" They got into the car, fastening their seat-belts.  
"What do you think?" Chloe asked and looked at Aubrey. The blonde just smiled and put her shades on. Chloe hadn't come all this way to go to Aubrey's apartment and unpack, make smalltalk or whatever. She had come for Beca and that's where Aubrey was driving her now.   
It was still early in the day, Chloe had taken the 7.30 a.m. from Logan Airport after barely three hours of sleep. Her brother Calvin hadn't been too happy to drive her all the way to Boston either but he knew how annoying his sister could get and rarely denied her anything. Now it was barely 10 a.m. and she was on her way to see Beca, it had all gone so fast but fast was what was needed in this situation.  
Chloe still couldn't comprehend how Jesse could have done what he had done. She had found the performance on youtube and after watching it had pushed her laptop off her bed - fortunately it didn't break - in her rage. How could he? How could he break her heart like that? Douchedick!  
"Have you heard anything from Becs?" Chloe asked into her own thoughts.  
"I'm not exactly the person she would contact - about anything. But Jessica sent me a text earlier that Beca hasn't shown up for psychology this morning. I guess it's safe to say that she's staying in today," Aubrey informed her friend. "Which is probably a good decision, Cynthia Rose and Stacie have already been song-bombed today with Since U Been Gone. Obviously, some people find that funny... if Cynthia would have gotten to that guy, she probably would have broken some bones."  
"She was pretty angry, wasn't she?" Chloe asked.  
"Yeah, she was beside herself, really. I don't even think it's about Beca for her... just that a guy could do something like that to a girl - it blows her mind."  
"She's so sweet. I don't know why she doesn't have a girlfriend," Chloe mused.  
"Maybe you should hook up with her," Aubrey suggested with a slight smile.  
"I could do worse. But that's not how it works."  
"Not when you already got your eyes on someone else," the blonde surmised and took a right turn toward Barden University.

There was a knock at the door. It roused Beca from her daze and she pulled a pillow over her head.  
"Go away," she yelled into it but the door already opened and a well-known voice said:  
"Beca," but it couldn't be who it sounded like! The pillow over her ears must be playing tricks with her hearing. Beca pulled the pillow from her face and looked at the door which was now open and revealed a smiling redhead.  
"Chloe," she said and her voice broke on her best friend's name because she knew immediately why her friend had come all the way from home. Her eyes filled with tears and Chloe was beside her and sitting on her bed in a second. She hugged Beca tightly.  
"I'm so sorry, sweetie," she whispered into Beca's ear and the brunette felt a sob shattering her body. "It's okay, let it all out," Chloe told her and that's what Beca did. Finally, she could just let go of her emotions. Why was this so easy to do with Chloe and so impossible to do with anyone else?  
Beca cried and Chloe held her.  
"You know?" the DJ asked after a while and brushed at her tears.  
"Yeah, I know. Aubrey called me after we hung up. She and the girls were worried about you, are worried, I guess," Chloe told Beca and took her hands from her face to replace them with her own. She carressed Beca's cheeks softly.  
"Aubrey's worried about me? That's a first," she tried to joke but it fell flat.  
"You know she cares about you."  
"Yeah, I know, though it's hard to comprehend why anyone would," she sounded bitter. She wasn't looking at Chloe either but down at her hands.  
"Hey," Chloe said and Beca slowly lifted her head. "You are a wonderful friend, Beca, and that's why the girls care. You know they almost went out and vandalized the Treble-club house last night? They were angry, they still are," the redhead told Beca.  
"I told them not to do anything stupid."  
"But those girls love you, we all do, and we don't want to stand by when you're being hurt," Chloe argued. Beca gave a small smile.  
"You love me?" she asked and saw an instant blush color Chloe's cheeks.  
"I do," the redhead said honestly.  
"Then I'm lucky to have such great friends."  
"You are," Chloe confirmed. "Do you wanna talk about it? About Jesse?" She asked after a moment in which she just looked at Beca, trying to surmise how deeply she was hurt. It was hard to read Beca, she put up a good front, but Chloe had learned to see through the cracks in her armor. She saw hurt and insecurity and self-loathing there and it made her ache for her friend.  
"Not right now," Beca answered Chloe's questions. "I'm really tired, I didn't get much sleep last night, so..."  
"That's perfect," Beca looked at her friend questioningly who slipped out of her jacket and kicked off her shoes. "I didn't get much sleep either, so..." She climbed over Beca into the small space behind her. "Could you scoot just a little, I think we'll both fit," she said and Beca did as she was told, with a surprised comical expression on her face. But Chloe was serious and when she lay down she put her arm around Beca's middle pulling her tight.  
"Go to sleep," she told the brunette and Beca smiled. She closed her eyes and found herself in the most comfortable warm place where there was someone who cared so deeply that she would take a flight at the crack of dawn just to take a nap with her. No wonder, Beca trusted no one as much as Chloe Beale - she was simply the best.

Hours later the door to her room opened and Beca cracked an eye open. She had been lazily drawing circles on the back of Chloe's hand, just thinking about how much she cherished the redhead and how glad she was that she was back. She stilled her hand when she saw Gracie Lou enter the room and shut her eye again.  
The blonde never cared much if or when Beca was asleep, so it wasn't exactly a surprise when she said to someone behind her.  
"Sorry about the lesbian porn," obviously referring to her roommate and her friend. Someone else stepped into the room and Beca felt the gaze burning through the thin bedspread that covered them.  
"Other than you I have friends I don't have sex with, GL," Beca said without even opening her eyes.  
"Like that boyfriend of yours? Oh, right, he isn't your boyfriend anymore," Gracie Lou chuckled. Beca felt the urge to throw up, preferably all over her roommate but then she felt the hand on her belly pulling her even closer. Chloe mumbled something unintelligable into her neck and Beca felt goosebumps break out all over her skin. "I guess that happens when someone doesn't pull out, right?" Gracie Lou made herself heard again.  
"Then that's a problem you'll never have," Beca gave back.  
"You're just jealous," her roommate snapped at her, annoyed that Beca still had her eyes closed, that she was still held by the redhead, that Beca existed.  
"That's right, I always wanted to have STDs." She felt a light tremor go through Chloe's body like a surpressed laugh. She had thought her friend was asleep but it seemed she was awake and listening.  
"STDs?" came from the guy Gracie Lee had brought in. "I... erm, I think I better go."  
"That was just a joke, Tom," Beca's roommate tried to stop him. "You bitch," she groused at Beca when that didn't work. She picked up her backpack and ran after Tom. And, of course, she slammed the door.  
Chloe chuckled.  
"That was mean," she said but it sounded rather proud.  
"All her boyfriends are dicks, so, she should be used to it."  
"Which brings us back to Jesse," Chloe murmured and wished she hadn't said it a moment later. Beca turned in her embrace and looked earnestly at Chloe.  
"Jesse's not a dick, you know that," she admonished.  
"Then why did he behave like one?" the redhead asked, her anger seeping through.  
"He... I'm a terrible girlfriend," Beca said and it sounded like a confession. A frown darkened her features and she couldn't look at Chloe. She felt like a failure and that was something Chloe couldn't stand.  
"No, you're not. You're amazing, Beca, don't let him tell you otherwise. That performance was just..."  
"Wait, you saw it?" Beca asked surprised.  
"It's on youtube," Chloe answered truthfully and saw Beca's whole face crumble.  
"It's on youtube? Goddamn, what... did one of the Trebles...," but Chloe shook her head.  
"Benji's dad, you know how he is."  
"Oh, God!" Beca put her face into her hands and buried deep into her pillow. Chloe pulled her tight again. At least Beca didn't cry but she was obviously ashamed. Why she should be ashamed instead of Jesse, Chloe didn't know or rather felt was off. Jesse should be the one pushing his worthless face into a cushion, better yet he should run around with a paperbag over his head, the damn coward. But she kept these thoughts to herself for now. Beca wasn't ready to bash on her ex just yet and Chloe could be very patient.  
"It'll all be okay, Becs. You know how quickly people forget... and it's not that big a news, it's just our little aca-world," she tried to assure Beca about the video.  
"If GL already knows about it... the whole campus knows," Beca gave back.  
"GL is a bitch. She only cares because you're her roommate," Chloe said.  
"She may be a bitch but... she was right about... Jesse and I. We never... and I wonder if that was why..." the brunette was still not looking at her friend.  
"You think Jesse broke up with you because you wouldn't have sex with him?" Chloe deciphered Beca's words.  
"I don't know. I mean, he never pressured me or... or maybe it was just because... I was never there. I was always at practice or with the Bellas or here mixing music..." She didn't add that a lot of times she was also skyping or calling or texting Chloe and that that had annoyed Jesse the most. Beca didn't know why. Chloe was Beca's best friend and she lived hundreds of miles away, of course, Beca had gone out of her way to stay in touch. She had to, Chloe was... her best friend. If she would have needed proof of that she just would have had to look at her now, the day after her break-up, by her side, comforting her. That was Chloe.  
"Music is your passion. What did he expect, that you gave it all up for him?"  
"Of course not. But... sometimes I just didn't feel like spending time with him, you know? Sometimes... I would just end up on Amy's couch after practice and we would talk. Or over at Stacie's... don't laugh but we actually watched The Bachelor on that big-ass tv she's got..." Chloe grinned at this. If Beca didn't like movies much, she hated tv and especially things like The Bachelor, or ANTM. They had once watched American Idol together - all the Bellas - and Beca had started throwing popcorn at the screen and yelled obscenities at everyone who came on. They had to turn it off at some point, Aubrey had been so close to tossing her cookies. "I don't know why, Chloe. I feel like a sabotaged my relationship and I don't know why."  
"I can't tell you, Beca," Chloe stroked her friends cheek.  
"I know. If I don't know why would you? It's probably just me being me... with all those issues about trust and commitment and intimacy..."  
"Bullfrogs," Chloe interrupted. "You've only been in psychology for a couple of weeks, you can't honestly buy into all that Freudian nonsense already." Beca grinned at this. Chloe's dad was a psychoanalyst and he had very strong opinions about Freud - about everything, really. It had been a blast for the girls to have him explain complex psychological theories in the easiest words possible. Dr. Beale mostly worked with children and found that he needed to explain these things to parents a lot.  
"Are you saying that I don't have trust issues," the brunette asked.  
"Everybody has trust issues. If we didn't we would be fools," Chloe argued and Beca smiled.  
"You mean, there's actually a person in the world you don't trust?"  
"Yeah, Mitt Romney," Chloe gave back and they giggled.  
"That's good to know."  
"Anyway. Maybe it wasn't your fault that you didn't open up to Jesse. Maybe it was his fault."  
"Not likely," Beca said  
"Yes, likely. Just... look at us, lying here. You don't have intimacy issues with me. You never did. And you trust me, too, don't you? And as for commitment... you have been very commited to the Bellas from the start and...," Chloe was rambling and Beca interrupted her again:  
"Easy, tiger. I get your point but... that's because of you. You just won't let anyone pull away or actually have a semblence to personal space... that's not a critique, by the way. You're just... easy to be with," Beca said and smiled at the redhead. Chloe's own answering smile was self-depricating.  
"You forget that I haven't been in a relationship for awhile," she countered.  
"Yeah, and that's one of the great mysteries of the world," Beca stated. "You're beautiful, smart, with a great singing voice. And you're the best... person and friend. I can't believe, guys aren't lining up infront of your parents' house just to get a glimpse of you," it all came out in a rush and Beca wasn't quite aware that she'd actually said it until she saw Chloe blush.   
"I... erm, I mean...," Beca stuttered and Chloe started giggling.  
"You, Beca Mitchell, are sweet." She kissed Beca on the nose and this time the brunette blushed. "Which absolutely proves my point: there's nothing wrong with you. If Jesse broke up with you then there's something wrong with him. Maybe he fell and hit his head, or maybe he went blind, I don't know and I don't care. I care about you. You shouldn't feel bad about him being an ass, he should."  
For once, Beca didn't argue. She knew that Chloe wouldn't let her and it actually felt too good to have her ego stroked like this. She needed it and it felt even better because Chloe was the one doing it. And so Beca leaned forward a little and did what Chloe had done before: she kissed her friend on the nose.


	5. Chapter 5

Jesse sat in his Movies and Music class, staring at the screen of his phone instead of listening to what usually brought him so much joy: music from movies. He loved this class, their professor mixed classical anthems from Star Wars with popsongs that were made famous through the movies they were played in, and also songs which pretty much made a movie or a scene into the success it was. It was interesting, it was exciting, it was his favorite subject - but today he hadn't any sense for it at all. Today a different song was playing and replaying in his head: Since U Been Gone. And he started hating it so much he wanted to cut it off but it wouldn't work. He couldn't get it out of his mind, nor Beca's face in the audience when he sang it to her, or the words of her text - the same words he was staring at:  
I know it's my fault, Jesse. I wouldn't listen. Let's just say, I got your message now. Beca.  
It read as a confession and he should be content with it yet he wasn't. How could he be content with hurting the person he loved? And he loved Beca, he did. He just found it incredibly difficult to talk to her, to tell her how he felt. Not because he wasn't connected to his feelings but because she didn't seem to be on the other end of them. She just detached, made a joke, worse: she didn't even listen to begin with. He had tried and he had failed.   
There had been people slapping him on the shoulder this morning, some congratulated him on the Trebles' victory, others had told him that he was better off without her but he didn't feel either. The victory was cheap and stale in his mouth, the break-up... it was impossible to even comprehend. She wrote that she got his message but had he really meant to sent this particular message, that it was over? The song in his head seemed to say so, the background music confirmed it and his own words had spelled it out, too. Yet he didn't feel them anymore. He didn't want to be apart from Beca, never that. Yet that was what he got.  
If he could only talk to her... explain what he had wanted to say to begin with.  
Jesse shook his head impatiently and clenched his teeth together. It was frustrating, this inability to be understood. And by someone he felt so in tune with, too. They had had such a great summer, up until the point when Chloe asked her to come to her family's fancy beach house. They had spent time, they had listened to music, they had watched some movies and he seemed to see them for the first time because she saw them for the first time. And then there was the kissing - and she was really a fantastic kisser - and... some touching... and then nothing. Beca would retreat and he understood that. Had understood because he thought they had more time. In his mind, there had been so much more time he could spend with her.  
But no, Beca was at the station, or Beca was at practice, or with one of her friends... never with him, it seemed.  
Jesse let his bitterness take over for a minute, the bitterness over her negligence of him, over the fact that her plans were always more important than his. She knew no bounderies, she was doing what she wanted to do, when she wanted to do it. He felt like a sideshow that she sometimes visited to distract herself but then she went back to her life, to her music - and that music played without him. He wasn't her soundtrack the way she was his.  
So, he had written an ending - a perfect ending. He put music into it and heart and soul. He had felt that this was it: the ending of their love story. No more thoughts of Beca, no more feelings for Beca because he had been the breaker, not the breakee. But now it felt all wrong. It had felt wrong the second he saw her face... she had been hurt and it had only satisfied him for a second to see it. Then he knew that what he was doing was wrong - and mean, as Aubrey had said.   
And he wasn't that guy. He wasn't mean. And he loved Beca. And he had hurt her because she had hurt him. Only, she did it without intention or mean spirit. She did it because she didn't know better.  
Jesse snapped his phone shut. He had to talk to Beca again. Maybe he could explain better, maybe he could explain how he had felt. Maybe... but then, why should she listen to him now?

Chloe went off the phone.  
"The girls wanna meet," she informed Beca who was cradling a container of rocky road ice cream. She put another spoonful of her favorite flavor into her mouth but didn't answer her friend. "Amy said they need a night away from everything, meet at Aubrey's, drink a little, maybe hit the town later."  
"You mean this town? There's no-fucking-where to go in this place!" Beca stated and she wasn't entirely wrong. On the other hand, it was still a college town which meant that there were places of underaged drinking and flirting to be found if one looked hard enough. Beca had never looked very hard, she wasn't much of a drinker, not much of a flirt, either. And why she should start with either now was a mystery to her. She had her rocky road, she didn't need alcohol.  
Beca snuggled deeper into her bedcovers and pouted at Chloe who sat at her desk. The redhead sighed.  
"Are you going?" Beca asked her and Chloe stood up. She came over to Beca, lay down on her stomach on the bed and took the spoon from her friend. She dug into the ice cream container and ate some of it before she answered:  
"I think we should both go. The girls want to see you, they want to be with you, help you..."  
"How is drinking and cruising gonna help me?" Beca reasoned.  
"It's not. But being with your friends might be, Becs. Please, for me?" She looked at Beca beseechingly, her blue eyes just pulling the brunette in.  
"You're evil." An accusation that remained unchallenged as Beca pondered her fate.  
She could sit here with her ice cream drowning in self-pity and, not to forget, self-loathing. Or she could be with her friends.  
"Of course, you could always stay here until Gracie Lou comes back. I think we both know how understanding she'll be when she finds you wallowing like this," Chloe grinned.  
"Now that was a low blow," Beca pouted.  
"I just hate for you to be... unhappy. And you know I will stay here if you want me to. Or I will go if that's what you want. But I'd rather we went out together, even if it's just the two of us. Whatever you wanna do, you know that, right?" Beca nodded. Yes, she knew. But Chloe already had her convinced that meeting the Bellas was the best thing to do.   
"Do you think we could maybe stay at Aubrey's... y'know, just listening to some music... I'm really not in the mood to... meet other people than you guys," Beca pleaded.  
"I'll just text Amy that we'll come to 'Brey's... after I get you to shower, that is."  
"Aca-scuse me!" Beca lifted one arm and sniffed. "I'm not stinking," she protested. Chloe chuckled.  
"And you're not going in sweats, either," she then stated and Beca pouted again.  
"You're so pushy," she complained while Chloe wrote her text to Amy.  
"Earlier you called me your best friend and now I'm pushy. Make up your mind, Mitchell, but do it in the shower. Go!" She pushed Beca's legs off the bed and the brunette slowly got up.  
"I thought you were gonna come and make sure I actually got in," she grinned at Chloe meaningfully.  
"You should know that I'm not above that, so, don't tempt me," Chloe gave back but Beca thought she could detect a slight blush on the redhead's cheeks. That was odd but it was also just a little reassuring. There was this tiny piece of their friendship that always referred back to that night when Chloe burst into Beca's shower. They had never told anyone, they had never really talked about it but they made sly references to it. It was their moment, really. And everytime they would listen to Titanium they remembered, whether they were together or not. And if they were together they would look at each other and grin and then look away. Their moment, their song.  
And it was those words that stopped Beca in her tracks, made her think about someone else she had had a moment with and a song. And how that moment was destroyed forever by Jesse with his twisted version of a break-up. And how that song, the song that she sang to him, was now forever ruined by his sense of revenge on her.  
Beca stood infront of her closet, suddenly as if paralyzed and Chloe felt the shift in her mood immediately. She got up from the bed and stepped behind her friend.  
"Hey," she put a hand on her shoulder. Beca turned.  
"He's such a dick. I can't believe he did that," Beca blurted out. Tears were flooding her eyes again and she fled them into Chloe's arms which held her tight.  
"He'll never do something like this again - I won't let him," she promised solemnly.

"... how about you, Stacie?" They heard Aubrey's voice from the door where they had just entered. "Worst break-up." She stated and Beca looked up at Chloe pleadingly.  
"It'll be alright," Chloe encouraged and pushed Beca in the direction of Aubrey's spacious living room where their friends sat and chatted.  
"I don't do relationships, thus I don't do break-ups," Stacie informed the other girls and when they entered they saw Jessica throw a pillow at the curvy brunette.  
"Cheater," one of the new girls, Lisa, exclaimed.  
"Alright, there was this one time... oh, hey, Beca, Chloe," she exclaimed and got off her comfortable perch in one of the two plushy armchairs. She hugged Chloe tightly, then pulled Beca to her breasts. "How are you, sweetie?" She whispered. The others, meanwhile, gathered around. Most of them hugged Chloe cheerfully before looking at Beca expectantly. They were waiting for an answer to Stacie's question.  
"I'm... here," was all she could offer them and a seriously inebriated Amy exclaimed:  
"Cheers to that!" and took another deep gulp from her red cup. Some of the others heartily agreed while Aubrey pushed a drink at Beca.  
"Here, drink this. It'll burn your throat but it's quite good," she seemed to have had some of the same herself because she wasn't walking as graceful as she usually did. Beca took the cup and drank.  
"Whoa, damn Aubrey! What did you put in this? Gasoline?"  
"Something like that. It only burns the first time, promise," Aubrey gave back and gave Chloe a cup of the same.  
"That's what guys always say," Stacie noted.  
"They don't always say that, Stace, they only say it when it's the first time," Amy corrected. "How many first times did you have?" She asked as an afterthought and Stacie seemed to seriously think about that question while most of the other Bellas laughed. Chloe, meanwhile, went over to Cynthia Rose who had held back when everybody came over to greet them.  
"Hey," she said to the only out lesbian of the group - the number of unofficially gay women in the Bellas had risen to 4 if you also counted Denise since the beginning of the new year.  
"Hey," Cynthia gave back and turned. She hugged Chloe tentatively but the redhead wouldn't have any of that. She pressed tightly into her friend.  
"Thanks for... wanting to bash Jesse's head in. I appreciate the thought," she said as she pulled back a little but didn't let go of the African-American woman yet.  
"That bastard," Cynthia just said. Chloe took her face into her hands and kissed her smack on the lips.  
"He is," she confirmed and turned to some catcalls from her friends who had watched the exchange. Beca looked a little startled and Chloe went back to her side.  
"Sorry, about that but Jesse..."  
"He's a self-rightous coward and a douchedick," Denise uttered with unaccustomed vehemenace. Most of the Bellas nodded and nobody understood what Lilly said but there seemed to be some mentioning of 'crushed bones.'  
"Thank you, guys, but... it's not just his fault. I mean what kind of break-up ever is?"  
"Oh, I can tell you about a couple of those," Amy volunteered. "But I get so restless with guys sometimes that I just send a text or an email..."  
"Maybe you should switch teams," Cynthia Rose advised with a grin.  
"I can't deal with another set of these, too distracting," Amy answered and lifted her breasts for a second.  
"That's the good part," one of the newbies, Kerry, volunteered and then blushed furiously.  
"It's okay, little one," Cynthia lay an arm around the younger woman's shoulders. "Being out with your friends is easier, believe me." And everyone seemed to agree, either in words or simple nods.


	6. Chapter 6

Beca watched her friends.   
There were Amy and Aubrey who could always be found in an ongoing conversation about everything and nothng. It was especially fascinating when they were both drunk - as they were now.  
Stacie was again sitting in that plush armchair, like a queen holding court but instead entertaining her listeners - Jessica always among them - with stories about her sex life. That could be quite fascinating, too, but most of the time it was rather disturbing.  
And in the corner by the door stood Chloe with Cynthia Rose. Beca wasn't sure what had happened, the two had never seemed that close before but now they were talking in low tones and it made Beca feel - left out. She was so taken by that feeling that she hardly realized Chloe looking over to her and smiling. When she did she tried to smile back but it couldn't convince her best friend. Chloe said something to Cynthia and then came over. The African-American Bella, meanwhile, walked over to where Stacie sat, leasurely taking her seat on the armrest of Stacie's perch.  
"Hey, you alright? You looked a little bit lost just now," Chloe casually lay an arm around Beca's shoulders. This was part of the redhead, reaching out, getting close. It might have been irritating at first but had finally grown even on Beca, the recluse. She felt comfortable with Chloe's nearness, and since she had just emptied her second cup of Aubrey's concoction - which still burned her throat with every sip - she felt herself dwelling in it. She put her head on Chloe's shoulder, burying her face in Chloe's neck.  
"Why did you kiss Cynthia Rose earlier?" she found herself asking.  
"Because she's a good friend," Chloe answered truthfully. She didn't want to go into all that had been said about Jesse, not again. She wanted for Beca to be able to have a conversation without being constantly reminded of what her ex had done.  
"Am I a good friend, too?" Beca asked and looked up at Chloe - as it seemed to the redhead - hopefully. Chloe laughed lightly.  
"Of course you are."  
"Hmmmm," Beca made, she was quite drunk at this point. There was a part of her who wanted to ask Chloe why she never kissed her if she was such a good friend, another part of her didn't want to make it obvious that she was rather eager to have Chloe kiss her - a third part was denying the eagerness vehemently. So, she just looked up at Chloe with puppy eyes and the redhead laughed some more.  
Chloe cupped Beca's cheek with her hand and pulled her face a little closer.  
"You're quite a little bit drunk, aren't you?" she asked but Beca shook her head.  
"No, no, not really. I just had two," she lifted her red cup.  
"Just two, huh?" Beca nodded and then smiled. She felt giddy all of a sudden, there were things happening to her body when her face was this close to Chloe's and the redhead was ulternately looking into her eyes and at her lips. Her toes started dancing in her shoes, her left hand slipped into a fold of Chloe's cardigan, holding on tightly.  
She knew it was going to happen, but wouldn't acknowledge as to what it was. If she formed that sentence in her mind, the moment would be broken, it would somehow fly away. She didn't want that. She wanted...  
Chloe smiled and kissed her on the nose again. It was an anticlimax. Had she unwillingly thought the thought she didn't want to think? Beca was confused.  
Chloe pulled her into a hug and whispered very close at her ear.  
"Let's try this again when we're both sober, okay?" How could she do anything but nod? And she did. Chloe gave her one of her dazzling smiles and then seemed to disappear from her side.

There was more alcohol that night, for all of them. Chloe seemed to be the only one who was something akin to sober. She tried to get Beca to get off of the couch but the brunette refused when everybody else was about to leave for their respective dorms or apartments.  
Beca pulled Chloe next to her onto the couch and lay her head on her shoulder.  
"I can't go home. I will puke on Gracie Lou if she says something mean," she told her friend in a small voice.  
"You would do that?" Beca nodded. She looked up at Chloe with her dark blue eyes. She didn't seem older than 10 or 11 at that moment, like a child afraid to grow up and having to deal with people who were like Gracie Lou Van Borden.  
"Do you wanna stay here, on the couch? We could also share the big bed in the guest room, if you want," Chloe suggested but Beca shook her head.  
"No, I'll stay here," she said. And as if in confirmation of that decision she leaned over to the side away from Chloe and pulled a cushion under her head.  
"You sure?" Chloe asked. She got up off the couch and knelt infront of Beca. She pushed her hair out of her friend's face and then just put her hand on Beca's cheek. The brunette's eyes fell closed as she nodded in answer to Chloe's question.  
"I don't wanna puke on you either," she confessed.  
"But I won't be mean," Chloe argued. She wasn't at all sure if she should just leave Beca on Aubrey's couch. She was really quite drunk and would probably be in need of the bathroom at some point.  
"No, you do other things... good things... but my stomach feels all funny when you do them," Beca answered honestly and Chloe felt the air escape her with a whimper. Beca opened her eyes at the sound and looked straight into those blue pools she always seemed to drown in. "You have pretty eyes," she said.  
"So do you," Chloe answered. Her hand on Beca's cheek seemed to tremble slightly, or maybe that was just Beca's imagination. "There's a lot of you that is pretty, Becs."  
Beca closed her eyes again.  
"Jesse thought so, too," she said in a low voice. "But now he doesn't." She seemed to fall asleep while she said it. Chloe closed her own eyes, she felt the effects of the alcohol, a slight dizziness, random thoughts that ran through her head at a leasurely pace, a numbness in some places. Then she opened them again and looked at Beca for a long moment. She knew how she felt for Beca, had known since that moment at the finals when Beca had kissed Jesse. She never would have thought that Beca had feelings for her, too. And maybe she didn't, maybe it was just the alcohol talking. But what if this was real, finally real?  
She heard Aubrey reenter her apartment, she had gone downstairs with their friends to see that they all got a taxi home or at least someone to walk with if they were inclined to walk.  
"So, she decided to stay here?" the tall blonde asked when she came into the living room. She was whispering.  
"Yeah, she didn't want to share the bed, she was afraid she would puke on me," Chloe answered with a small smile as she got up from her place infront of the couch.  
"That was very thoughtful for someone that drunk," Aubrey said. Chloe just nodded. She looked back down at Beca.  
"She'll be alright, you know? Jesse is just a blimp on the radar of her life, she will get over him," her friend came over to Chloe and linked hands with her.  
"I know. It's just... gosh, I still wish I could... hurt him somehow. Just... a scratch or a kick against his shin... better still in the balls..." There was anger in Chloe but there was also a small part disgust that she could even entertain such notions. She was not a violent person, she usually liked people. She had liked Jesse for awhile, not a long while, just until the finals when everything had fallen into place - and apart.  
"You'll probably see him on campus one of these days, there might be a chance for it," Aubrey said cooly.  
"I thought you didn't want anyone to take revenge."  
"That goes only for the Bellas, you're not a Bella anymore. You could kick him in the balls," the tall blonde encouraged.  
"Beca wouldn't be happy if I did. I think I will restrict myself to words."  
"Make them good ones then," Aubrey adviced and yawned. "We'll talk tomorrow, okay?" Chloe nodded and they hugged before each went their respective ways to their beds.

Beca left the apartment just a little after 8 a.m. She had been woken by Aubrey leaving for her job and had found some ibuprofen next to her on the couch table. And she was grareful for them. She had a headache that wanted to split her head open - she actually put her hands to her head to see if it had succeeded yet. Her stomach hadn't been too happy either and had lost its contents once Beca hit the bathroom. It had settled down now, her headache was numbed by those pills Aubrey had left her and now she was walking to her favorite coffee joint on campus.  
It had been a bad idea to get drunk on a weekday - and a Monday of all days. But she had known that while she was doing it, only... she had felt better for awhile. She had been with her friends, they had understood that she didn't want to talk about it but had still succeeded at cheering her up. Stacie had even told her about that one bad break-up she had had. Not that Beca clearly remembered how that went, she had been too drunk by then, but she remembered the tall brunette hugging her tightly. They had all hugged her at some point, there might even have been one or two times she initiated the hugs, she wasn't sure. But it had felt good - better than this morning.  
Beca got her usual latte and went outside. It was a nice late October morning - not too early for students to be around but not the mass of student body that would show itself later in the day. She found a bench and sat down, nursing her coffee, watching people walking to classes, meeting friends. Everybody was busy.  
Beca pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, she was looking into her coffee cup. There had been some things happening last night - and those she remembered rather clearly. Chloe had almost kissed her and she had wanted her to. The memory was so clear it actually startled her. Her eyes became glassy with tears but they didn't fall.  
"What the hell is happening!" she whispered to herself. But she didn't have an answer, everything was jumbled in her head. When had things become so complicated? It couldn't have only happened at the regionals, there were things before that... things she had ignored. Things she didn't even want to think about now.  
Beca sniffed and rubbed at her eyes.  
"Hey, Beca. Is this a bad time? I... I could come back later," Beca looked up at Benji who stood awkwardly by the bench she was sitting on. She hadn't even noticed him coming over but now he was there.  
"No, it's okay. Was there anything... anything you wanted?" Beca breathed deeply, willing the emotional turmoil she was in to go away, but just burying it like she always did.  
"May I?" He pointed at the seat beside her and she nodded.  
"Sure, what's on your mind?" Beca asked. She didn't try to smile or encourage him in any other way. To be honest, she didn't know where she stood with him - or any of the Trebles - for that matter. In the months she had been with Jesse she had gotten along with all of them. They had partied together, the Bellas and the Trebles, they had become friends. But now... it was over between her and Jesse and she wasn't sure whether she still wanted to be friends with any of them. They had done that number together, they had rehearsed it for weeks, these guys had known way before she did that her boyfriend was going to break up with her. They had been loyal to him which was understandable but it left her with a bunch of guys in her life she couldn't trust... and Jesse honestly wondered where her trust issues came from?  
"Look, I'm sorry about the regionals. What Jesse did... what we all did: it was wrong and I want to apologize for us," Benji said. He looked at his hands but when she didn't answer him looked up into her eyes. She seemed thoughtful.  
"You can't apologize for the others, Benji, just for yourself," she then told him. He nodded.  
"I'm really sorry, the guys are, too. We... I knew that it was a bad idea but I didn't say anything. Jesse was so... I... he's my friend and I didn't want to let him down." Beca nodded but she didn't say anything. She didn't know what. "I'm also sorry about the video," he then said and scrunched up his face. "My dad, he... videotaped it and put it up. I didn't even know he would do that, he didn't do it at the finals last year..."  
"It's okay. I know he didn't mean anything by it," Beca said.  
"I could tell him to take it down," Benji offered but Beca shook her head.  
"No, I mean... I haven't even seen it and I'm certainly not gonna look at the comments. I'm sure there is more than one video out there and... it doesn't really matter. Everyone will have forgotten in a few days," she reasoned and he nodded.  
"It's just... I feel bad, Beca. The whole thing got out of control and if there's anything I can do... I'm not a bully, you know that. I...," he shook his head seemingly over himself. She knew that he regretted what had happened, and it wasn't really his fault. He coudn't have stopped Jesse, at least not by himself. She was disappointed that he hadn't tried but she couldn't really be angry at him. And he seemed to beat himself up over it quite a bit - the word 'bully' didn't come out of nowhere.  
"Benji," she lay her hand on his forearm. "I... know you're not a bad guy, none of you are. Jesse and I had our problems but I didn't even know how bad it was until that... performance. I feel like an idiot, man. I know that it was my fault and I wouldn't talk to him... and he... went overboard. I wish he hadn't done what he did. And I wish he hadn't pulled everyone into it, my friends and his. I mean... the Bellas and the Trebles got along so great, right?" Benji nodded. "Now... well... let's say the girls aren't happy with you guys... it was the wrong way. But that's... it doesn't matter anymore. I'm so over it. I don't wanna hear about it or talk about it, really, so... let's just not. Okay?" He nodded but didn't look very happy or relieved.  
"Does that mean we're not friends anymore?" he asked sadly.  
"No, it doesn't mean we're not friends anymore. But... give me a little time, okay? Give all of us a little time. It'll probably be back to the way it had been when Bumper was around... competitive, antagonistic... at least for awhile."  
"That sucks," Benji said and Beca grinned.  
"Yeah, it does. But I don't think it can be helped, so..." They sat silently for a minute.  
"Can you tell the others that we're sorry? I mean... some of them act cocky about it, even after what Aubrey said, but I know they're..."  
"After what Aubrey said? What did she say to you?" Beca interrupted him and he blushed a little.  
"She said we were mean for doing this... she pretty much cut us down after the competition. We didn't even have a party after that, just sat around drinking. Well, some of the guys got all dignified over it... they just act like jerks but I think what Aubrey said got through to them. We're all sorry, really. Most of all Jesse, he... he's pretty down," he added. Beca thought about his words, the ones about Aubrey talking to them after the competition. She was still there, 100% Barden Bella - and so classy. Beca smiled a little. Then she seemed to comprehend what Benji had said about Jesse and the smile vanished.  
"Break-ups suck, Benji. He should feel it, I sure do," she told him and got up off the bench. He got up, too. "I guess, I'll see you around." And then she turned and walked away.  
Benji sighed. This didn't go as he had hoped but it hadn't been as bad as he had feared either.It wouldn't go over in a day, or a week, but he thought that they could get past it at some point. Beca didn't seem the kind to hold grudges and he knew that Jesse didn't either. In fact, he was sure his friend would make it right - if given the chance.


	7. Chapter 7

When Beca came back to her dormroom, a tie hang over the doorknob. Beca rolled her eyes. It looked like Gracie Lou had taken advantage of her being gone all night and had invited one - or more - of her friends over.  
"Wonderful," Beca murmured to herself, she grinned at one of the girls coming out of the next room.  
"They were at it most of the night. I don't think they'll be in a hurry to get up." The girl grimaced.  
"Then there's no other way. I'm going in," Beca decided and the girl threw her a pitiful look.  
"Good luck," she said over her shoulder as she went in the direction of the showers.  
Beca nodded and wondered for a moment why she had never talked to that girl before, she seemed nice enough. But Beca hardly spoke to any of the students who were practically her neighbors, or with those she studied with, actually. She had her small circle of friends and they were all aca-people.  
Beca slowly turned the doorknob, trying not to make a noise. But it didn't matter, Gracie Lou was awake and she and her boyfriend - in lack of a better word - were already at it again. Given, they were not at IT, per se, they were still only kissing - at least as far as Beca could tell with the blankets and all - but that was already too much to watch for Beca's sensitive stomach.  
"HEY!!" Gracie screeched when she noticed Beca coming into the room. The DJ had only looked for a second at the bed across from hers but her roommate obviously thought she was spying on them or something. "Get out, you perv," she yelled at Beca who once again rolled her eyes.  
"Hold your titties, GL, I just want my laptop," she said as calmly as possible while she busied herself with her computer. She put it in her bag, secured her headphones across her neck, and wanted to leave again when she remembered that she was still wearing yesterday's clothes. She went to the closet.  
"Are you actually so thick that you don't know what the tie around the knob means? Everybody knows, bitch. It means, stay the hell out!" Gracie Lou was still yelling.  
Beca was pushing a shirt and some underwear into her bag.  
"I know what it means, I just didn't care," Beca gave back and wanted to leave when Gracie Lou said:  
"Hey, bitch. You wanna hear my new ringtone?" The brunette was so perplexed by the question that she turned back to her rommate and her friend. Gracie Lou took her phone from her shelf and quickly touched the screen a couple of times. She was grinning at Beca. The phone began playing: Since U Been Gone - and not the Kelly Clarkson-version either. It was the Trebles, or rather, Jesse singing it - to her. Beca felt a wave of nausea rise from her stomach. She couldn't even say anything, she just left the room to the laughter of her roommate and the voice of her ex-boyfriend.

Two days later, Chloe surprised Beca with a picnic basket infront of her psychology class.  
"What's that?" the DJ asked suspiciously.  
"It's my new car, do you like it?" Chloe smiled.  
"Mighty small. Did you wanna go for a ride or something?"  
"Yeah, a joy ride," the redhead grinned.  
The last two days had been uneventful, at least on the surface. Beca tried to deal, Chloe tried to help and they were almost always together. Chloe and Aubrey had come to practice and all the Bellas had put their heads together for a new number for the semi finals. Things were tense but they all tried to move on from the loss of the regionals. Part of that included steering clear of the Trebles and so far most of them had been successful. The groups mostly ignored each other, though Beca had gotten two texts from Jesse that he would like to meet and talk. She had deleted them without telling Chloe about it.  
Her feelings toward the redhead were strange, or they made her feel strange. There were moments she felt things, things she had felt before but had never given meaning to. But now there was meaning and Beca tried to take a step back and look at it all. But it didn't make any sense. If these feelings had been there before, how could they mean what they probably meant? How could they mean anything at all - besides friendship, that was? She looked at Chloe and tried to see her the way she had looked at her before they almost kissed, before she had wanted them to kiss but there seemed to be a vacuum there as if... as if there had never been a time before she had wanted to kiss Chloe. That was confusing.  
But then there was all the other stuff that was just normal. Like sitting down on the campus lawn on a blanket and having a picnic with her best friend, teasing Chloe about the music she had picked for the event - a mixture of songs so bizarr it ranged from Marilyn Manson to Barbra Streisand to En Vogue (and whoever remembered En Vogue, anyway?), and then lying down with her head in Chloe's lap and just talk.  
"How you're feeling?" Chloe asked as she ran her hand through Beca's hair. The brunette gave a sigh that was almost a purr.  
"Like some kind of Roman emporer who is being fed grapes by one of his concubine's," she said and grinned.  
"Concubine? They were called harlots, sweetie, and you should really be careful who you're calling a 'ho."  
"Sorry about that. I just meant I feel very well cared for," Beca backpedalled but Chloe only smiled mildly. Then she lay back on her elbows and let her hair fall easy behind her. Beca tried to look up at her but it was a rather awkward position to be in. The only thing she knew was that Chloe looked beautiful so relaxed. She still had a tan from the summer up north that seemed to have deepened since they had seen each other. Her skin shone golden in the warm October sunlight, her hair was lighter, and her Chloe-ness was radiant. Beca felt like reaching out and touch but she was scared.  
"You know what Aubrey said the other day?"  
"Hm?"  
"That Jesse is just a blimp on the radar of your life?" Beca had to laugh at that, it sounded weird.  
"Shut up, Aubrey said that?"  
"Yeah, after the party. She gets a little wordy when she's drunk," Chloe explained but grinned, too.  
"A blimp on the radar of my life? A blimp, that's interesting. Do you agree?" The redhead sat up again and looked down at her friend.  
"I don't know. I mean... how could I say what he was to you, or is to you? He was your first boyfriend, right?" Beca nodded and sighed.  
"Yeah, first and probably last. I don't know if I'll ever have the courage to enter that minefield again," she mused.  
"Don't be silly, there will be a lot of people you're gonna love in your life," Chloe protested.  
"A lot of people? Now who's calling who a harlot?" Beca joked but it fell flat, she could see it in Chloe's face that hovered over hers.  
"You know what I mean."  
"Yeah, I guess but... what is so bad with being single? You are, Aubrey is... Cynthia Rose is, too. I don't see why the conscious decision of not being with anyone for a time in your life should be a crime, socially speaking," the DJ stated.  
"I think you overestimate Aubrey, Cynthia and me. At least, I know that Aubrey and I aren't single by choice. Aubrey is always looking for someone, it just so happens that she's looking for someone perfect which makes it rather difficult."  
"And you?" Beca asked earnestly.  
"I... I'm waiting for someone...," she simply said and looked anywhere but at her friend. She fidgeted a little under Beca but the brunette didn't get up from her comfortable position and after a few minutes of silence she seemed to settle down again. Beca pondered her words. Waiting for someone. That could mean at least two thing: that she had her eyes on someone who wasn't free, or that she actually waited for someone new to just appear - and that didn't sound like Chloe at all. She was a very active person, why would she be inactive in her pursue of a partner? Why should she be the one waiting for someone, anyone? She was amazing, people should be waiting for her. But there was a nagging thought at the back of her mind, maybe it was just a hope, maybe it was a suspicion. Could Beca be the one Chloe waited for? It seemed ridiculous, it seemed utterly insane, it seemed the most outrageous theory and at the same time it would be so breathtaking if it were true.  
Beca closed her eyes. She tried to control these thoughts, they weren't real. How could they be? Jesse had just broken up with her, he should be the one she was thinking of. He and her stupid broken heart.  
"Chloe?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Do you think I'm broken?" Beca asked. She felt Chloe's hand return to her hair and carress it lightly.  
"Broken?"  
"Maybe not broken, maybe just demaged? I mean...," Beca stopped talking to think about what she wanted to say. "I know you don't believe in Freudian theory but... do you think that because my dad left me, that I can't trust... men, maybe? That I could never trust Jesse because of my dad and that I will forever think that they'll leave me?"  
"No," was Chloe's answer and Beca opened her eyes again.  
"No?" Chloe shook her head.  
"There are already people who you trust, right? You trust your friends and you trust your mom and I think you even trust your dad... think about it. It's true, isn't it?"  
"Well, yeah... I guess, you're right."  
"So, why would you trust him when he is at the core of your - as you put it the other day - 'trust issues' and not Jesse... I mean, Jesse before he behaved like a douche? What I think is... trust builds or deepens. If you didn't trust Jesse enough to - as an example - sleep with him then he hadn't earned that trust yet. And relationships are different, bonds are different, people are different. Everything's different with another person and that's why I can't agree when you say you won't love again. A different person might sweep you off your feet," Chloe said with conviction.  
"I don't think I'm the swept off-kind," Beca argued.  
"Yeah, but maybe it's not for you decide. Maybe it's in that other person to do the sweeping off even against your intentions, or motivations," Chloe gave back.  
"Even against my character?"  
"There are usually two people in a relationship. Even if your character is not for being swept off, even if your partner's character is not for sweeping off, together you could make it happen," Chloe grinned. "What are we even talking about?" She laughed and Beca joined her.  
"I don't even know, dude."

Later, Beca was lying on her back and Chloe lay beside her on her stomach so that they could look at each other.  
"So, have you talked to that guy in Chicago yet?" Beca asked her friend.  
"No, not yet. I should call him these days," Chloe said a little evasively.  
"And why don't you?"  
Chloe sighed. She knew that when she made that decision now things would get set into motion. And usually this was exactly what she would want, to get moving again, to start a new part of her life. But now... she had been happy these last few days. She had been with Beca and with Aubrey and the other Bellas and she had realized how much she had missed these wonderful women. They were the first group of friends she actually wanted in her life for a long time. She wanted to see Beca making it into the music industry, she wanted to see Aubrey finding that one person who would probably turn out not at all perfect but very human. She wanted to see what became of all the others, what they would strife for, what their dreams were, who they would marry or be with. She wanted to be a godmother to their kids...  
But what if she went to Chicago now? She would rip herself from their company to go to a city where she didn't know anyone. Would she be able to stay in touch? Would the others make that effort? She knew that Aubrey would and she was pretty positive about Beca as well but... was that enough? An email every other month, maybe a phone call at birthdays and Christmas.  
Chloe looked at Beca and the brunette could see sadness there.  
"Hey?" She touched Chloe's arm.  
"I don't wanna go," the redhead confessed. Beca rolled onto her side and put an arm around Chloe's shoulders.  
"This is your life, Chlo. I know it's hard but you can't stay here indefinitely just because... Jesse broke up with me and you love us all and want to stay here. It's your future," she told her.  
"I know all that, Becs, but... Damn, I'm gonna miss you so much," and now there were tears in her eyes. Beca pulled her closer to her.  
"I'm gonna miss you, too," she breathed into Chloe's hair and felt her head turn just as someone said:  
"The two of you need to get a room." And then that person plopped down on the grass next to them. Beca and Chloe both looked up startled to see a grinning Cynthia Rose who already sat by them and an awkward looking Jessica who stood a few feet away.  
Beca rolled back onto her back.  
"Very funny, CR," she admonished.  
"I wasn't even joking," and she grinned. Beca felt herself blush but Chloe just rolled her eyes at their friend, at the same time brushing at her unshed tears.  
"Sit down, Jess. What have you guys been up to?" She asked to change the subject.  
"Oh, we had music theory together and have just gotten lunch," Cynthia Rose unpacked some containers of Chinese food from her backpack. Jessica sat next to her and grabbed some chopsticks. "Do you guys want some?"  
"No, thanks. Chloe has already fed me," Beca grinned. "And I had chocolate cake for desert," she added.  
"That's the best for a broken heart," Cynthia Rose said and started eating. Beca looked at her thoughtfully. A broken heart? Was that what everybody was thinking? Was that what she had? A broken heart. It sounded a little too dramatic for something she seemed to forget already. Fact was, she didn't even miss Jesse that much. She hadn't hesitated when she deleted his texts, she hadn't even thought for a second about meeting him. She didn't want to talk to him, she didn't want to see him, she didn't miss him. What still rattled her was when people teased her about it, like Gracie Lou with her stupid ringtone. All her grief seemed to stem from that performance at the regionals and the humiliation she still felt creeping up her cheeks when she thought about it.  
"I guess you would know that better than me," Beca said. "I mean, you've been with your ex for quite some time before she broke it up, right?" Cynthia Rose looked up at that question. Nobody had so far asked her about her ex-girlfriend.  
"Yeah, we have been together for over two years, most of high school," she said. It was strange to talk about this now that she was finally over it. And the Bellas had helped a lot, especially when it came to her gambling. They had kept her busy, not just with practice but with all kinds of time they spent with her over the last months. Amy had gone out of her way to keep her out of trouble the most, Jessica and Stacie had spent a lot of time with her, too. And Denise... her ex who would never admit to them having been together, they had finally talked about a lot of things. It had helped even if Cynthia Rose had a hard time with the fact that Denise was dating a guy now.  
"That must have been hard," Beca said.  
"It was. I mean, we planned to attend college together... and then, just before prom, she broke up with me. We didn't go to the same school, actually, but... well, I had wanted to ask her to come with me," a bitter sweet smile accompanied the memory. "I've been a fool, of course. The school board would never have allowed it. But I wanted it... she didn't." Beca reached over and put her hand on Cynthia's knee. The African-American woman took it and squeezed. "It was too much for her, she didn't want an announcement of her love for me, or mine for her. I thought she was a coward and I was... angry. I understand her better now but it still hurts when the woman you love, the one you have made plans with for the future, doesn't want anyone to know you're more than friends."  
Beca looked up at Cynthia Rose, very aware of the silence that now engulfed the whole group. Everybody looked at Cynthia Rose but at least Beca's thoughts were on the redhead beside her.  
"Anyway, I'm over it. And I haven't gambled in three months now, not with actual people or online. I don't even say 'Wanna bet?' anymore. I'm good," she grinned.  
Beca snorted.  
"That's good," she confirmed.  
"You will get there, too," Cynthia Rose promised.  
Beca wanted to protest, she didn't think that her way was going to be as long or as hard as her friend's. Jesse hadn't been what that girl - Denise - had been for Cynthia Rose, she knew that now, but while she was formulating a response a shadow fell over her.


	8. Chapter 8

The tension was immediate and for Beca it ran through the hand she was still holding, Cynthia Rose's hand. She was gripping it tighter when she felt the African-American woman stirr, ready to jump up and into Jesse's face.  
"Hey guys," he said in that way he had - the one that didn't tell him this wasn't a good time to approach Beca.  
Chloe beside her sat up, so did Beca herself.  
"What do YOU want?" Cynthia Rose asked but Jesse only looked at her for a short moment before he trained his eyes back on Beca.  
"I sent you a couple of texts," he said.  
"Yeah, I got them," Beca answered and felt Chloe look at her. "I just don't wanna talk to you, Jesse."  
"And that's your cue to leave," Cynthia groused.  
"Yeah, you should leave," Jessica seconded this opinion and her friends all loked at her. There was anger in the girl's voice something none of them had yet heard.  
"This is none of your business, you know," Jesse said. "That's between my girlfriend and I."  
"Beca's not your girlfriend," Chloe said. Jesse looked at her for a long moment but didn't answer.  
"Beca, please, just a few minutes," he tried again and this time Cynthia Rose slipped her hand from Beca's and got up.  
"She doesn't wanna talk to you, Jesse, so get out!" The Treble was taller than the Bella but Cynthia Rose was quite an imposing figure, especially when she was angry. Jesse took a step back from her. Beca stood up as well and lay a calming hand on her friend's arm.  
"It's okay, CR. Jesse, I think you better go." From the corners of her eyes she could see Chloe and Jess get up as well. And she could also see a couple of Trebles across the lawn, looking at their group.  
"I just wanna talk to you, that's all," he wouldn't give up.  
"Tough luck, Jesse, because it doesn't matter what you want. Beca's moved on," Chloe said.  
"To you? Tell me, have you finally gotten into her pants?" He asked and turned toward her but was at the same time pushed backwards and clearly off his feet. The Trebles Beca had seen came running over as Cynthia Rose shouted at him:  
"Shut up, dickhead!" It had been her who had pushed him and it looked like she was ready to launch at him but Beca and Jessica held her arms.  
"Stop it, please," Beca said and her friend looked at her. The Trebles helped Jesse up and took position beside him.  
"What is wrong with you?" He yelled at Cynthia Rose.  
"Wrong with her? Are you out of your mind?" Chloe yelled back.  
"Calm down! All of you! Goddammit!!" Beca drowned out everyone as they started to scream at each other. "Jesse, I don't wanna talk to you. You hurt me, okay? You said your piece, I wrote you that text, there is nothing more to say!"  
"But I love you," he pleaded and they all looked at him.  
"You have a strange way of showing that," Cynthia Rose said. She let herself be pulled away a few feet by Jessica.  
"I know, I... it was a mistake," Jesse tried again. Chloe looked at Beca who was looking at Jesse. "I was such an idiot and I know that. But you have to give me another chance." There was a moment when Chloe thought that Beca would do just that and her innards crammed. It didn't feel like earlier the same year when they were in New York and Beca had kissed Jesse for the first time - it was way worse. She felt her eyes water, her stomach churn, her knees about to give out but then she saw Beca shake her head no.  
"No, dude. I don't have to do that and I don't want to do it either," Beca said very clearly. Chloe turned away from everyone and held her hand to her heart for a short moment. Then she brushed at her unshed tears for a second time that day and turned back to her friends.  
Jesse was staring at Beca but Beca turned first toward Cynthia Rose than toward Chloe who gave her a weak smile. Beca nodded at her. It meant something but not even Beca was sure what - and she didn't want to think about it just yet. Jesse saw it, too, and it gave him a kick in the gut. He had lost her and he knew it. There was no way back. Jesse turned and walked away, his friends trailing after him.  
Cynthia Rose saw his defeated look and watched him go. She shook her head, she was still so angry. And so she turned as well and walked away.  
"Cynthia Rose?" Jessica tried but her friend really didn't want to talk about all this. It was too painful. Why were people such idiots?  
Beca and Chloe also turned when they heard Jessica.  
"I'm going to talk to her," Chloe said but Beca touched her arm.  
"Let me, please." They looked at each other and then Beca followed her friend. She was going to the auditorium, their practice hall.

Cynthia Rose sat at the piano and played a few notes when Beca entered. She didn't look up or gave any sign that she even knew her friend was there. Beca hesitated, for a moment she just looked at the other Bella. Cynthia Rose was clearly a beautiful woman, maybe not by conventional society standards - because she obviiously defied those - but by any other standards Beca could think of. And she was such a good person. That's why the Bellas captain couldn't quite understand why her friend had pushed Jesse. Had she herself been angry at his comment? Yes, but her confusion about his jealousy was greater. She had known about it since she had visited Chloe in Massachusetts and had at first thought it was just about Chloe's parents having money and all that, or about Beca spending a lot of time with her friend. But there was more, just like there had always been something more between Chloe and her - something she only now became aware of herself.  
"Your ex is such a douchebag," Cynthia Rose said into Beca's thoughts. The brunette looked up and found her friend looking at her.  
"Jesse's okay, he's..."  
"No, he's not okay. Stop defending him. He's an ass," Cynthia interrupted Beca, her anger once again evident in he voice. Beca went over to where she sat at the piano and pulled a chair close to her seat. She leaned forward onto her thighs.  
"Why're you so angry with him, CR?" The African-American woman huffed as if she could care less about just another guy who treated his girlfriend badly. But Beca didn't buy that for a second. "Talk to me," she pleaded.  
Cynthia Rose hit a few more notes on the piano then turned toward her captain.  
"What he said to Chloe... just... he... you can't say shit like that! Not in public, not out loud like that. People hear. And he doesn't even know what... people might do, Beca!" Her jaw set so tightly, Beca thought she might break it. Beca put a hand to Cynthia's cheek. "And he also doesn't know if it's true... not that it matters, you know."  
But Beca shook her head, she wasn't sure what her friend meant or maybe she wasn't ready to know.  
"I had this friend in high school. She... she had a girlfriend at another school and it was a couple of weeks before graduation when one of her class mates saw them together, just holding hands, kissing. He wasn't a bad guy really and he thought it more funny than anything. So, he told his friends, they told their friends and so on. And then there were those guys, they thought they should talk to her, five big guys, no brains but self-righteous 'tudes... they confronted her, told her to stay away from their girlfriends and shit... she got angry, they got angry and... they beat her up bad."  
Beca gasped for breath, reaching for Cynthia Rose's hand.  
"Oh God," she breathed.  
"They didn't rape her, luckily. Just beat her," the dark-skinned woman huffed an ironic laugh. "Just." she repeated. "Well... it was bad, it could have been worse, but it was bad. She spent some time in the hospital and when she came back she had lost all her friends. And why? Because some guy who wasn't a bad guy couldn't keep his mouth shut, couldn't see the consequences of his amusement. He apologized... later but... and he wasn't dumb or anything. Just like Jesse isn't dumb. He just couldn't keep his mouth shut."  
Beca nodded slowly, she understood now. Things like that could get out of hand and there had been some people watching them, not just the Trebles,and if they had heard what Jesse said to Chloe... and then there were the things Gracie Lou was constantly saying about her and Chloe...  
"Heavens... is this how it is for you? I mean, do you feel... threatened like that all the time?" Cynthia Rose smiled slightly.  
"No, not all the time. Certainly not when I'm with you all. But I'm very aware that things can get out of hand. Mostly they don't but there is a small chance that there's someone around who hates you because you are different. Of course, being different is not just being gay, it's being black, it's being a woman, it's wearing ear-monstrosities, or being a ginger. You can't really say what people might trigger to hate you. Not all haters will beat you up, either. You can't change who you are, you can't change on the slight chance that somebody might take offence. But you can't let people shoot their mouth's off on something like this," she explained. Beca closed her eyes for a minute. She felt Cynthia lean in close, squeezing her hand like she had done earlier and putting her other hand to her cheek. Strange how roles reversed sometimes and in a matter of minutes.  
"Awareness of these things doesn't keep me from being happy with someone, Becs," she said. "People can be mean, yes, but most of the time you're among friends or among people who don't care who you love. It's not all bad but it's more difficult than being - what society calls - normal."  
Beca nodded. It wasn't like she didn't know that, everybody probably knew that. But it was different when the perspective shifted, like Beca felt hers shift these days.  
"What..." Beca cleared her throat. "What did your parents do?"  
"My parents?"  
"After those guys beat you?" She looked into her friend's eyes, saw panic there for a moment then they became glassy with tears. "It's okay," Beca whispered.  
"They pressed charges, of course. There was no discussion at all. The boys were all expelled, nobody made a fuss. It was a hate crime. You know, my dad had it rough. He came from an almost stereotypical ghetto background... and he worked so hard to have his own kids grow up in a nice neighborhood with good schools. He thought that was the best way to protect us. And then I was beaten up... by three white dudes, an Asian-American and another black guy. He was beyond himself... he never blamed me, or anything, though my parents have their issues with me being gay. But that was hard on him," Cynthia recalled and tears dropped down from her chin onto their combined hands.  
"Was that why your ex didn't want to go to prom?" Cynthia Rose nodded.  
"She was scared out of her wits, can't really blame her. I looked bad, man. Had a few broken ribs, they had to set my nose and my jaw... black eyes, of course, and bruises all over. Luckily, no internal bleeding or anything. I was really, really lucky that way," she made a face. It sounded off but probably some doctor had told her that she had been lucky in those same words.  
"Shit like that shouldn't happen. You shouldn't feel lucky because they didn't beat you to death or raped you. It could have been worse, sounds like an excuse society uses because we can't prevent shit like this from happening," Beca said darkly.  
"You're right. Still, I'm kinda happy that I'm still alive," she grinned.  
"So am I," the DJ confirmed and smiled shyly.  
Cynthia Rose got up off the piano stool and pulled Beca up as well. She hugged her captain and Beca answered in kind, pulling Cynthia Rose tightly to her.  
"Thanks for defending me earlier... and Chloe," she said as they parted.  
"No prob," Cynthia Rose answered and they made their way toward the exit. "So, are you gonna ask Chloe out?" She asked and Beca stopped abruptly.  
"What?" Cynthia just smiled at her.  
"The way I see it, you won't find anyone better than Chloe. Might as well go out with her," she advised.  
"I... I don't know," Beca stammered.  
"You better find out soon, 'cause she's not gonna be here for much longer," and with these words she resumed her way out of the auditorium leaving a speechless Beca behind.


	9. Chapter 9

They had come back to where Jessica and Chloe had waited. But they didn't stay on the campus lawn. The bright October sky had darkened and it looked like it was going to rain soon. They had broken up their little party and Beca and Chloe hadn't quite made it to Baker Hall before it started raining. The girls ran into safety but by the time they reached Beca's dorm they were considerably wetter than before.  
"Damn!" Beca groused as they entered her room. A quick look around assured them that at least Gracie Lou wasn't there.  
"It has been such a nice day and now look at that!" They were both staring out at a very dark sky and the rain that came in droves.  
"Here," Beca handed Chloe a towel.  
"Do you have a shirt and some sweats?" The redhead asked and at the same time pulled her shirt over her head.  
"Jesus, Chlo, could you at least warn me before you undress?" The brunette didn't sound amused, she turned away from her friend and toward her closet, blushing furiously. Chloe laughed lightly.  
"I thought you would be used to that by now, especially after the summer we had," the redhead said. Beca handed her a shirt over her shoulder. "Thanks." Beca remembered the summer - lying in the sun with a topless Chloe sure should have prepared her for this. But things had changed in the last few days, at least for Beca and she wasn't sure how to react to Chloe's close proximity, her inhibitions when it came to her body, her exuberance, her there-ness. Beca's hand shook as she handed Chloe some sweat-shorts.  
"Will these do? My other sweats are in the laundry."  
"Yeah, sure." Beca pulled a dry tank top from her huge pile and changed, still with her back to her friend. Only when she was looking for her sweats did she turn and found Chloe lounging on her bed. She had put her wet clothes over Beca's desk chair to dry.  
Beca didn't know why the sight of her friend in her clothes, her hair a little mussed from where she had tried to dry it, showing a fair amount of tanned legs should undo her the way it did but she heard herself whimper at the sight before her. Chloe looked up at her and light blue eyes seemed to look right into her mind - reading thoughts and wishes there that Beca hadn't even known she had. Chloe rolled onto her knees at the edge of the bed, pulling Beca close by her arms.  
"You should maybe put on something warmer, you have goosebumps," she said and rubbed over her friend's arms. Beca wanted to pull away, it was torture to have Chloe touch her, but it was sweet torture. Chloe finally linked their hands. "You alright?" The redhead asked not for the first time since Beca and Cynthia Rose had rejoined her and Jessica on the lawn.  
Beca closed her eyes, she was everything but alright. She was in pieces all over the place, she was coming undone at her seams, she was losing her mind. But she nodded, she nodded and untangled her hands from Chloe's.  
"I was just looking for my sweats," she said and pointed at them lying at the end of her bed.  
"Yeah, you should change those pants. We don't want you to catch a cold," she said and her hands went to Beca's hips where she opened the button to her jeans. The jolt of arousal hit Beca so immediately that she grabbed Chloe's hands a little bit too tightly.  
"Chloe," she gasped. She saw amusement in the redhead's eyes but it vanished when Chloe took in the panic in Beca's.  
"I'm sorry," she said and pulled her hands from Beca's grasp. She lay back down.  
Beca quickly changed into her sweats and then picked up her clothes and Chloe's.  
"I just put them in a dryer, be right back," and then she fled her dormroom.

"What the fuck!" Beca screamed as she threw their clothes on the next washing machine. She noticed too late that there were other people present who now looked at her bewildered. "What!" she yelled at them and they turned toward their own business again.  
"Of all the stupid... damn... I...," she now groused at herself in a lower voice. She brought the clothes over to the dryers and started pushing them in, then remembering that Chloe could have left something in her jeans' pockets she went through them. Her phone.  
"Now that was close," she murmured and put the pants into the dryer. She pushed a button on the machine and it started working. Ten miinutes. She could as well stay. Beca sat on the island of tables in the middle of the room and sighed deeply. She felt foolish. Her body was out of her control, Chloe just needed to touch her be it ever so innocently and she went off like a rocket. How was that even possible? Jesse and she had been fooling around for hours at a time and she hadn't felt... anything like... damn, she wasn't even sure what she had felt. It was so sudden, so overwhelming and then gone... or maybe it was still lingering in the rapid beating of her heart, her sweaty palms and a tingling in some more private places. And she tried to suppress all of that, she tried to will herself into control again. It was working very slowly and by the time ten minutes were over and the dryer buzzed, she felt better if not completely relaxed.  
Her thoughts tormented her, though. They tried to interpret her reaction to Chloe but she didn't want that to happen just now, she didn't have time for it right now. She just wanted peace and quite from all kinds of relationships. But Cynthia Rose had been right, Chloe wouldn't stay forever. Even if she wanted to, she had obligations, she had ambitions. And maybe it was best to just step back and let it go and have Chloe leave... but that particular thought left Beca feeling so empty, she couldn't even finish it.  
She pulled their clothes out of the dryer and with the warm armload walked up the stairs to the third floor and her room.

When she entered Chloe sat on the edge of the bed. She looked uncomfortable and just a little sad.  
Beca put their clothes down.  
"Here, your phone. Don't worry, I pulled it out before I dried the clothes." Chloe took the phone from her.  
"I'm sorry, Beca, I shouldn't have done that," she said.  
"I'm sorry, too. I overreacted. It's okay."  
"Do you want me to leave?" Chloe asked and looked at the pile of clothes.  
"No." Beca looked at their clothes as well, anywhere but at her friend.  
"I thought you... wanted me to...," the redhead started saying.  
"Wanted you to what?"  
"I thought you wanted me to seduce you," Chloe finished the sentence very slowly and deliberately. Beca's eyes went round.  
"What!" she bellowed. Chloe looked up at her, held her eyes but didn't reapeat what she had said. She knew Beca had heard her even if she couldn't quite believe what her friend had said.  
"I misread the signs, I'm sorry," she finally said. Beca sat down on the bed, flabbergasted.  
"I...," but she didn't really know what to say or how to disagree on this. If Chloe had taken her cue from the way she had looked at her earlier... then she hadn't misread anything.  
"I should go," Chloe said.  
"Please don't. Let's... talk about it, please?" The redhead nodded and turned toward Beca, one leg folded infront of her. Beca pushed the clothes from the middle of the bed to a corner and mirrored Chloe's position. She reached out for Chloe's hand and held it as she asked:  
"You like girls?" Chloe smiled.  
"I'm not especially fond of labels but I guess you could say that I'm bisexual," she answered.  
"Why didn't you tell me?"  
"It's not something I go around telling people. Sometimes I just assume that people know because I'm not very shy about it. I mean I don't hide it exactly," it sounded lame in her ears, probably because she had known that Beca didn't know and that she hadn't wanted Beca to know it, either.  
"I didn't know," Beca said.  
"You didn't even suspect it?"  
"Well, after you burst into my shower I had a doubtful moment but then there was... what was his name?"  
"Marc," Chloe said.  
"Yeah, Marc."   
They sat in silence for a few minutes.  
"Jesse must have suspected it, I guess," Chloe finally said.  
"I guess... he was... jealous... but I thought it was just because I stayed with you a couple of days longer last summer."  
"I'm not friends with you just to get into your pants. You know that, right?"  
"Of course, I do," Beca assured Chloe and squeezed her hand. "Though I guess you can't deny that you tried it now, can you?" She grinned and Chloe laughed lightly.  
"Can't blame a girl for trying," she gave back playfully. "I didn't mean to freak you out, though." Her second hand joined the two hands that were already holding each other and so did Beca's.   
"You didn't freak me out," Chloe raised a copper eyebrow at that. "Okay, you freaked me out a little. But... I... God, Chloe, I don't know." Her dark blue eyes stared desperately into her friend's, trying to convey all those conflicting emotions and feelings she had. She could see that she was failing, though. Chloe looked back questioningly.  
"I don't know what is happening," Beca tried to explain. Chloe looked at her curiously.  
"But something is happening?" She wondered and Beca nodded. She could admit this much.  
"Alright," Chloe smiled. "Come on, let's get a little more comfortable. It's been a long day," she said and stretched out on the bed. She pulled Beca infront of her, the way that had lain that first morning when she had come back. Her hand was carressing Beca's arm. The brunette turned a little, looking at her friend.  
"It's okay, I'm not trying anything... next time you want me to... seduce you, you have to tell me," she told Beca honestly. Her friend blushed and turned back onto her side. Chloe spooned her.  
"How is Cynthia Rose, by the way? You were gone quite awhile," she asked.  
"She' angry at Jesse for saying... what he said to you."  
"Yeah, I figured that much." Chloe leaned on her elbow and looked down at Beca. "But that's not all, is it?" Beca shook her head.  
"A friend of hers... had been beaten because someone had seen her kissing her girlfriend. It wasn't him that beat her, he was just some guy who told his friends. Word got around and a couple of jocks thought it would be fun to push that friend of CR around some. She got angry and they got angry and then they beat her up." Chloe's grip around her tightened, her jaw set. She shook her head.  
"Those bastards," she finally gound out.  
"She's alive. They broke some ribs and her nose... mostly they left bruises," now it was Beca's hand reassuring Chloe by carressing her arm.  
"It's disgusting what some people would do to someone who's different," Chloe said.  
"That's why Cynthia pushed Jesse, because he... outed you without even thinking about it and without considering that there were people around who might hear," Beca explained. Chloe nodded.  
"I thought as much. Of course, I didn't know about her friend."  
"I should probably talk to him. What if he just spreads it around... even if he just tells the Trebles. It could be all over campus by tomorrow," she said, suddenly agitated. She hadn't even thought about this so far.  
"It's not like I'm still a student here, Beca. It will be alright, I'm sure. And I don't think Jesse wante people to know that... well, that his ex might be with another woman now. Whether it's true or not," she quickly added.  
"Probably not, still... I should talk to him."  
"Not if you don't want to," Chloe disagreed.  
"He could get you into trouble, he could get us both into trouble with his assumptions. I don't want that."  
"So, what are you gonna tell him? That he's wrong?" This quieted the DJ for a minute.  
"We haven't done anything," she then argued.  
"I know," Chloe said with emphasis, she smiled self-deprecatingly. Beca touched her jaw, carressed her cheek.  
"Do you really like me?" she asked. Chloe closed her eyes, enjoying the tentative touches to her face.  
"Beca," she breathed. "I really like you."  
Beca felt a wave of heat run through her, it seemed to spread from her hand but reached every little nook of her body in seconds. She felt her breathing grow labored... and they still hadn't done anything. She wanted to pull Chloe's mouth to her but in that moment the door opened and Beca pulled her hand from Chloe's face. It was Gracie Lou, of course. She looked at them for a second.  
"Almost sorry to interrupt," she said. She put her backpack down which was a sure sign that she wasn't going to leave again soon. Beca closed her eyes, a frustrated moan wanted to burst forth but she swallowed it.  
"I should go," she heard Chloe at her ear and a moment later the redhead was reaching for her clothes. Beca pulled her arm over her eyes, she didn't need to see Chloe dress to torture herself even more. Only seconds seemed to have passed when she felt someone lean over her, then a pair of lips pressed themelves to her cheek.  
"I'll call you later," Chloe promised. Beca opened her eyes again, smiling faintly up at her friend. She only nodded.  
"Aren't you two the cutest?" Gracie Lou cooed ironically. Beca turned toward her.  
"Do you ever know when to shut the fuck up?" she groused. Her roommate just gave her a sickenly sweet smile.  
"Later," Chloe squeezed her hand one last time and then left. As the door closed behind her, Beca put her arm back over her eyes to drown out sights, noises, thoughts, feelings, just everything.


	10. Chapter 10

When Aubrey came home that evening she found Chloe at the kitchen table with her phone. She looked thoughtfully at the device, fiddling with a piece of paper in her hand.  
"Hey, everything okay?" Chloe looked up at her and sighed.  
"Yeah, I'm good. I was just calling Mr. Davidson about that job in Chicago," she said and tried a smile.  
"Really, that's great. When're you gonna start?" Aubrey came over and put a hand on her best friend's shoulder, squeezing it in congratulation.  
"I'm not," Chloe answered.  
"What? Don't tell me they offered the job to someone else. I thought you had another week to decide," Aubrey seemed outraged on the behalf of her friend.  
"No, they didn't offer it someone else. I... I decided not to take it." Aubrey looked at Chloe in bewilderment and didn't know what to say. Since Chloe had decided that she wanted to work as an editor she had talked about the publisher who eventually offered her her dream job - and suddenly she didn't want to take it. That was beyond weird, that was insane.  
"What happened, Chloe?" She finally uttered.  
"We almost kissed," Chloe stated and smiled up at Aubrey. The tall blonde pulled a chair up and sat down.  
"You almost kissed," she repeated but she didn't seem to know what that meant exactly. Chloe couldn't be talking about the man who had offered her the job, they never met... that left...  
"Beca? And you? You..." And then her mouth just stood agape. Chloe nodded and kept on smiling. Aubrey screeched and threw her arms around Chloe, she hugged her.  
"That's aca-mazing, Chloe. I'm..." But then she broke up. She looked at her friend earnestly. "Is that why you're not going to Chicago?"  
"Yes," Aubrey wanted to protest, she started to but Chloe interjected: "I know what you're gonna say, 'Brey, but... I can't just leave, not now. I..."  
"I know you're in love, Chloe, but this is the job you've been dreaming about for the last three years. This is the part of the future you most wanted to happen," she reminded Chloe.  
"Not for the last year, 'Brey," the redhead answered.  
"Does Beca know about this? Does she know what you're giving up for an almost kiss with her?"  
"Don't belittle this, 'Brey, it means too much to me. And, no, Beca doesn't know yet. And it's not like I don't have anything... I actually had another offer to work at a publishing house in Atlanta. That's only a couple hours' drive. And it's a good publisher, smaller but good." Chloe argued.  
"But it's not the best, it's not what you deserve and worked so hard for, Chloe. How can you... you'll be miserable with this decision, and we both know it," Aubrey said. She was quite adamant that Chloe should have the best possible things in her life and that included her dream job. The blonde had been so proud of Chloe when she called to tell her the news, they had talked for an hour on the phone and the redhead had told her how excited she was. Aubrey couldn't see how Chloe could give up on that - for the slight possibility of a relationship. It didn't matter to her that it was with another woman - Aubrey had known from the start of their friendship that Chloe liked women and men - it didn't matter that it was with Beca Mitchell - although she thought that Chloe could do a lot better - it was about what women did for people they thought they loved, how they sabotaged their personal success for people who didn't appreciate the sacrifice. She had seen this happen, and she had vowed to herself that it would never happen to her - and she hated to see it happen to her best friend.  
"Aubrey, if I get a chance with Beca... it'll all be worth it," Chloe said earnestly.  
"But what if you don't? What if Beca... Jesse just broke up with her and it hit her pretty hard. I hate to say this but... you could just be the rebound." Aubrey saw tears springing to Chloe's eyes.  
"No," her friend pleaded.  
"Chloe, please, think about this," Aubrey said but Chloe shook her head and got up off her chair.  
"Beca wouldn't do that to me, 'Brey, she wouldn't." And with those words she left Aubrey at her kitchen table and walked out the door.

It was still raining. Beca looked out the window at the water accumulating on the lawn and the concrete walks running through it while she worked on a new mix. She tried not to overthink the things that had happened between her and Chloe, or the things that almost happened. But she kept coming back to that moment she had made the decision to kiss her and felt that it had been the only decision to make. And she would do it, she would kiss Chloe - one of these days.  
The vibration of her phone in her pocket pulled her out of her thoughts and she smiled as she saw the name of the text-messager on the display: Chloe.  
U wanna go out, have some fun?  
What do u have in mind?, Beca texted back.  
Maybe a pizza somewhere. I also know a karaoke bar that serves beer to underaged delinquents. Beca laughed.  
Are u calling me a delinquent, red?  
Do I have to remind u that u've been to jail?, came the prompt answer from her friend.  
U win. When u wanna meet?  
How about right now. Look out the window. And when Beca did that she could see one of the umbrella's going around campus lift and Chloe's wild red mane winblown like a flag. Beca waved at her and Chloe waved back.  
B right there, she answered the text, slipped into her boots and pulled a jacket from her closet. Then she left her room to meet with Chloe.

"This is good pizza," Beca said.  
"It's the best you're gonna find around here. Trust me, I tried every single venue around town," Chloe grinned at her friend.  
"So, that's why Aubrey always teases you when you want to order pizza for everybody and usually suggests something else." Chloe rolled her eyes but nodded. Beca just laughed. "Why haven't we been here before?" She then asked. It was just a usual pizza joint, nothing special. There were a lot of students hanging around tables, some older folks as well.  
"I guess, we never been out eating before... like on a date, or something," Chloe said and Beca looked at her.   
"Is this a date?" she asked. Chloe took a sip from her soda.  
"If you want," she then said and seemed to hold her breath for the answer. Beca thought about it for a moment then she nodded and saw Chloe relax visibly. She was smiling and the dimples that showed had Beca's stomach aflutter with butterflies. This was new, it was interesting and just a little scary. But she was cool, Beca Mitchell was cool... and smiling like an idiot.  
"Good, now we got that cleared up..." Beca cleared her throat. "...tell me about the place where this delinquent will get a beer with a song." Chloe laughed.  
"You're so cute when you're flustered," she said.  
"I have you know, I'm not cute at all. I'm being serious about that beer... and about that song. Are you gonna sing something for me?" She flirted and then sobered at the memory of someone else singing to her. Her smile faltered. Chloe lay a hand on Beca's on the table but Beca pulled her hers away.  
"Sorry, that was..." Chloe started saying but Beca interjected.  
"No, I'm... I'm sorry. I just thought... of Jesse and his very public proclamation of me being a lousy girlfriend," Beca bit her lip. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I keep bringing this up. You must be really tired about this by now."  
"No, honestly, I just... It's too early, isn't it? To call this a date?" Chloe wanted to lay a comforting hand on Beca but was suddenly self-conscious about it. She had never been self-conscious with Beca. But the brunette had pulled her hand away which probably meant she didn't want to be touched.  
"Considering I have been thinking about kissing you since... we almost did, I think it's not too early," Beca said and this time she reached out and took Chloe's hand in hers.  
"You have been thinking about kissing me?" Beca nodded rather vehemently and Chloe laughed. "So..," she wanted to lean in but Beca whispered.  
"Not here, though. It's a little bit... too crowded."  
"Okay, somewhere else then... later," it sounded like a question and Beca nodded again.  
"Yeah, that would be good." They smiled at each other and resumed their dinner.

The bar they walked into almost an hour later was a greasy place, probably because most of the patrons were students. Drunk students.   
"And you call me a delinquent," Beca wondered aloud.  
"Well, you did time, didn't you?" Chloe gave back.  
"Yeah, like half an hour in a holding cell. Most of these guys probably have some DUIs on their rap sheet," she grinned.  
"The perfect place. Come on, let's get you a beer and a tequila. There's no singing sober," Chloe pulled Baca to the bar and they got their order. They both drank a shot of tequila right at the bar then ordered another and started looking for a table. They got lucky when a couple of girls vacated their table to sit with some guys. They sat down.  
"I would never have pictured you in a place like this," Beca yelled over the noise. Chloe laughed.  
"Why not? I like to party, you know that."  
"Yeah, but I also saw where you come from, Chlo. This isn't exactly a country club setting," Beca almost slapped herself for her snobbery.  
"Oh, so only people from a middle class background like yourself have the right to end the day in a bar? Is that it?" Chloe called her out on her bullshit but good-naturedly. There had always been moments in her life just like this one, when someone would say she didn't fit because of her background, her family, her status. The only thing she could do about that was being nice to everyone, not to discriminate, to treat everyone like she wanted to be treated. That was her way of life. She had never been a debutante - her parents had given her the option - and she wasn't going to act like one.  
"Sorry, I didn't... way to go on a first date, Mitchell. Be an ass why aren't you," Beca rolled her eyes over herself but Chloe just laughed.  
"You're not an ass. You just have prejudices against richt people, most people have them." The DJ opened her mouth but didn't know what to say to that accusation, she just sat there with her mouth agape. Chloe laughed again. "So, you're gonna dance with me?" She pulled Beca from her chair and over to the dancefloor.  
They started dancing to a song by Jennifer Lopez, it was a rhythmic piece and Chloe was moving her hips to the beat. Beca felt a little awkward but Chloe just went with the song and didn't let any guys who might want to cut in come between them. Finally Beca was losening up a little and concentrated more on the redhead than the people who might be watching them. And it was actually fun to dance with Chloe, she wasn't self-conscious, she was a little dorky and not shy to show it. Before Beca knew it she was just laughing and dancing and having a good time.  
They sat down again and waited for the karaoke to start. Beca was sure that they would be up on the stage for sure tonight, Chloe had made that very clear. She loved to sing and if Beca wasn't going to go onstage with her she would just go alone. But Beca planned very much on a duet, she wanted to hear her voice mix with Chloe's again. It had been too long.  
"Do you want another?" Chloe pointed at Beca's almost empty beer mug but the brunette shook her head.  
"Later," she answered. Chloe nodded. "Tell me something. How do you know this place, for real?" Chloe grinned.  
"I was with a guy the first year at Barden, a jock, insanely good looking. We're talking about Brad Pitt-look-alike, that is, Brad Pitt when he made Thelma and Louise," Beca looked at her blankly. "That was the first movie Pitt was in, he was hot," Chloe said.  
"Okay," Beca answered. She did know who Brad Pitt was but she wasn't sure she wanted to hear a story that involved Chloe going out with someone looking like that.  
"You know I date, right? I mean, I'm not a nun, Beca."   
"I know, I know, sorry," Beca smiled. "Tell me the story."  
"Okay, so Neal, that was his name, was a total closet case..."  
"He was gay?" Beca seemed to like the story better now but Chloe shook her head.  
"No, not that closet. He always pretended to be a bad-ass, you know, with his friends. But one night, he brought me here, alone... and he went onto the stage and sang the most aweful rendition of James Blunt's Goodbye My Lover that I've ever heard. But it was so cute and he loved doing it so much. He just wouldn't admit it to his friends."  
"So, why did you guys break up?" Beca asked.  
"He made fun of me singing with the Bellas," Chloe simply stated. Beca rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yeah, I know the nerve of him... but he wasn't that great a guy. You know, most of it was looks. Not funny, not really intelligent."  
"Are those your requirements for a relationship?"  
"Funny and intelligent, sure. Someone who loves music, of course. A good person who's there for her... or his friends. Of course, if it's someone nice to look at...," Chloe bit her lip as she smiled at Beca. The brunette blushed a little but didn't break eye-contact.  
"You think I look nice?" she asked.  
"You're beautiful, Becs. Really, beautiful." They were just looking at each other.  
"So are you," Beca complimented. "You're a knock-out, actually." It felt a little strange for Beca to be complimenting another woman's looks. She had done it before, of course, friends liked to be reassured as did mothers. But this was different. She had looked at Chloe many times, always thinking that she was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. And she had seen a lot of her. And it had never been... desinterested. She had liked looking at her, and she had looked at her a lot. And it only now occured to her.  
"I always thought so," she admitted.  
"Yeah?"  
"Well, I saw you naked," Beca winked at her friend and they both started giggling.  
"That you did... and vice versa." Chloe let her eyes drift down Beca's body and the thickness of that look took Beca's breath away. She couldn't even comprehend how sexy Chloe could be after having been goofy a moment earlier. Some girls had it all, and the redhead most certainly did. Chloe looked up again and smiled at Beca.  
"You're hot," her voice was soft and sincere. She just looked into Beca's eyes and the brunette felt prickly all over. She wanted so much to lean in and kiss Chloe right now. She wanted to give back to that openness of Chloe's, her honesty. But once again, timing was not on her side as the night's DJ played that one song she didn't need to hear right now: Don't You (Forget About Me) by Simiple Minds.  
Beca closed her eyes and moaned.  
"Damn! Why..." She felt Chloe take her hand.  
"Hey!" She said and Beca opened her eyes again. She looked into Chloe's.  
"I am cursed."  
"No, you're not. I had this song with my first girlfriend... I'm not even gonna say what it was because it was cheesy beyong hope... we always listened to it when we were making out. After she broke up with me I thought I could never listen to it again... but whenever I hear it now, I just think of how sweet we were and how inexperienced. It was a good thing while it lasted. And I actually made one new memory to that song... also good," she grinned.  
"You didn't lose your virginity to it, did you?" Beca asked.  
"No, that was before I kissed a girl for the first time. And no music was playing, fortunately," she told Beca. "What I'm saying is: a lot of times in our lives moments will be connected to something, not just music, but smells, maybe, or a dress you wore or room you were in. We can't blame these things for being around while we are happy or unhappy. Sometimes a song is just a song, Becs. This one is good and you sang it to your first boyfriend. It's a good song."  
"You're amazing, you know that?" Beca smiled.  
"Yeah, I think I'm pretty cool," Chloe joked and they giggled. That was when Chloe looked up and saw three guys in dark red shirts coming in. For a second she wondered what Bumper was doing back in town, then she saw the dark-haired guy behind him and she made a decision. She leaned over to Beca and captured her lips.


	11. Chapter 11

The first touch was unexpected and she still had her eyes open. Then a jolt ran through her, hitting her hard in the pit of her stomach and she realized what was happening. She closed her eyes, latched onto Chloe's lips purposefully. She wanted to feel this, all of it. Wave after wave of emotions, arousal, joy hit her and left her breathless after only a few short minutes and she had to come up for air. She looked at Chloe, so close, so beautiful. And smiling. Beca was about to lean in for another kiss when she heard a familiar voice over the beating of her heart.  
"And tonight we introduce to you the 3Bs, Barden's Bisexual Bellas!" It was Bumper, unmistakably. Beca looked up at him and thus also at the man standing next to him: Jesse. He seemed frozen to the spot and didn't react to Bumper's outstretched hand ready for a high-five.  
Beca looked back at Chloe but her friend looked at Jesse. The Treble finally found his ability to move again, turned and walked out of the bar.  
"Hey, Jesse, come on. We just got here..." Bumper followed him and after another look at the two girls so did Donald.  
"Chloe?" Beca said. Chloe looked at her, the smile was gone, determination had replaced it. "Why did you just kiss me?" The DJ asked but she already knew the answer.  
"I... I didn't want him to come over and ruin our evening," Chloe finally answered. "He would have just wanted to talk to you again."  
"Then I would have told him no," Beca said.  
"But you said you wanted to talk to him about what he did earlier. I thought... I didn't want..." Chloe looked down at her hands.  
"You kissed me because you wanted Jesse to see it, is that it? You wanted to... mark your territory?" Beca stood up off her chair so quickly it fell to the floor with a loud bang.  
"I just wanted for him to get a clue," Chloe stood up as well, facing Beca.  
"And I just wanted to kiss you... because I like you. I don't care about Jesse - not anymore. I thought you got that. I thought... Never mind." Beca pulled her jacket from the back of her chair on the floor. Then she left the bar.

Beca felt numb. For half an hour she just walked aimlessly through the streets of the small college town, not looking at anything or anybody, just walking. She tried not to think of the kiss. The kiss was only one side of the coin that now made up this experience. The other side was the reason Chloe had kissed her - the wrong reason . Jealousy.  
Beca didn't need that, not Jesse's, not Chloe's. She couldn't live like that. She had to know that she was in control of her life, that she was calling the shots on who she was with and why. And if Chloe didn't respect that then... damn her.  
The thing that confused her, though, was that this wasn't at all like Chloe. She wasn't the jealous type. So, why did she act like that?  
It was all very confusing and infuriating. It shouldn't be like this. Her first kiss with Chloe should have been perfect, not just the execution - which had totally knocked her off her feet - but everything around it. LIke the one with Jesse had been. Given, it paled in comparison with having Chloe's lips on her mouth - now that she knew - but the circumstances had been... movie-like? Was that what she wanted? Her life like a movie?  
Beca shook her head disgustedly. She looked around herself, a little lost at first but then recognizing the neighborhood. One of her friends lived only three blocks further down the street. Beca only hesitated for a moment. She knew it was late but she knew that there wasn't a Bella who would turn her out, not even at this ungodly hour (unless maybe if they had company but Beca would take that chance).

Beca knocked at the apartment door and listened. There was no sound from within. She tried again, louder this time. She listened again and then hurt someone grumble. There were footsteps and then the door opened to a disheveled-looking Cynthia Rose.  
"Beca? What..."  
"I'm sorry, CR, I... can I come in?" Beca asked.  
"Is everything all right?" Cynthia Rose pulled the door open and waved Beca inside.  
"I just... needed someone to talk to," the brunette offered hesitantly.  
"Oh, okay. Sit down," she pointed at her desk chair but Beca merely used it to hang her jacket over then walked to the bed/couch combo that was made up as a bed, slipped out of her boots, and made herself comfortable. When she looked up at Cynthia Rose she saw a raised eyebrow and rolled her eyes. They smiled at each other and Cynthia went over to slip beneath the covers at the other side of the bed.  
"What happened?" She then asked.  
"Chloe and I went out - on a date," Beca answered simply and it was easy for the other Bella to surmise that it hadn't gone well.  
"Is Chloe okay?"  
"I think so. I left her at the bar we were at... Dave's den, or something." Cynthia Rose grabbed her phone. She started typing a quick text, got an answer, typed again. There was a final answer and then the African-American woman put her phone back on her nightstand.  
"She took a taxi home. I told her you were here," she told Beca. "What happened?" But Beca didn't answer that question just then, she wanted to talk about something else first:  
"How did you know? I mean, why did you tell me to ask Chloe out... I mean... how..."  
"You wanna know how I knew that you and Chloe had the hots for each other?" Cynthia Rose grinned. Beca blushed but nodded.  
"I guess I pretty much knew that Chloe swung that way from the beginning. She was checking out Stacie, I mean, we both were," Cynthia Rose smiled self-deprecatingly. "And then she would always defend you infront of Aubrey, and I guess I figured she was into you. She was looking at you a lot - and you were looking at her, too, pretty much all the time. And then there was that duet in the pool after... Aubrey and Chloe faught over the pitch pipe. I thought you guys would hook up for sure after that... I mean, you guys sang to each other that night, it was so... And then you kissed Jesse at the finals. I actually wanted to rub my eyes, I didn't see that coming. And then I looked at Chloe..." Cynthia Rose was shaking her head. "I guess, she didn't see it coming either," she only said but it wasn't all that she had seen in Chloe's eyes. Beca had broken her heart that night, Cynthia was sure about that.  
"She liked me even then?"  
"Yeah, and I thought you liked her, too."  
"I did... I mean, she was my friend and... the pool mash-up was... I mean, I didn't think of it... I mean we did sing to each other but...oh God, I'm such a bonehead... how can she even like me?" Beca put her head into her hands, embarrassed of her ignorance. But how could she have known that Chloe liked her that way? How could she have even suspected that she herself... swung that way, as Cynthia Rose had put it? Except for the fact that it had been obvious, of course!  
"Hey, it's not always easy to... read the signs. I mean I'm kinda tuned that way. But I'm not even sure any of the other girls noticed. Well, Jessica hinted that she did and I think Chloe talked to Aubrey at some point but the others... they didn't say anything, at least."  
"Now that's comforting," and the sarcasm practically dripped out of that statement.  
"Don't beat yourself up over it, Becs. These things... take time."  
"But... I kinda knew but I didn't... know!" Beca grumbled. "How can that even be possible? To know oneself so little? Chloe... she's..." But she didn't finish the sentence. She couldn't go back to telling people how amazing Chloe was when she felt betrayed by what had happened at the bar.  
"Jesse was your first real boyfriend, right?" Beca nodded, looking down at her hands. "People are different, Beca. Most lesbians I know have been with men before they found out they liked women better. Then there's bisexuals who like both sexes. Some people know from the start, others find out late in their lives, after they had kids and were married. You can't force these things, Beca, they make themselves known to you. Sometimes subtly, sometimes with rainbows and unicorns." Beca looked up to find Cynthia Rose grinning. She tried a smile of her own but it faltered.  
"She kissed me. Chloe. She kissed me at the bar... but just because of Jesse," she finally said and had to swallow at tears that were threatening to fall. She put a hand over her face.  
"Because of Jesse?" Beca nodded.  
"He had just come in with Bumper and Donald. I hadn't seen them but Chloe had... and then she kissed me. To show him that I was taken, or something. That's just... that's not like Chloe, she's not like that. Why did she do that?" Cynthia Rose touched Beca's hand, the one she still held infront of her face. She took it and held it. Beca looked up at her.  
"At the finals, when Chloe saw you kiss Jesse... she was pretty hurt, everyone who looked could see that. I think I was the only one who looked but it was obvious. I think she had hoped that... you liked her the way she liked you. Did you ever tell her how you felt about Jesse?" Beca shook her head no.  
"I wasn't even sure myself. I mean... he was cute and all that. We got along well... when he didn't try to talk for me instead of to me or tried to shove some of his conventional beliefs down my throat... I... God, I make him sound like an ass. He's not an ass. I'm the ass. I played him, and I played Chloe."  
"No, you didn't play them because you didn't know that you liked Chloe better than Jesse. Sometimes these things happen, it's not fair to anyone but... it can't be helped. You didn't do it on purpose, not like other people who stay in the closet and flirt and kiss you when they're drunk and then go back to the boyfriend because it's safer... people like that exist, Beca. You're not one of them," the African-American Bella told her friend.  
"But I broke Chloe's heart back then and I didn't even know. And now I broke Jesse's as well. Why is this so complicated?"  
"Because human beings are idiots," came the simple answer and Beca could only nod at it. She certainly felt like an idiot right now.  
For a few minutes they just sat silently then Beca sighed. She pulled out her phone. She started typing, then thought about it, deleted what she had written, wrote something else. She sent two texts that night, both saying the same thing:  
We need to talk. Tomorrow. Beca. She sent it to Chloe, then she sent it to Jesse.

Beca returned to her dormroom around 8 a.m. She hadn't slept well, Cynthia Rose was an uneasy sleeper and kept waking her with her tossing and turning. Not that she had only Cynthia Rose to thank for the restless night, Chloe had invaded her thoughts and dreams. It was impossible for Beca to not think about the kiss, it had filled her with life - as short-lived as that had been. And she wanted more of it. But first, they needed to talk.  
Beca turned the knob to her room and found the door open, a sure sign that her obnoxious roommate was within. The DJ steeled herself for another round of their favorite game: who's the greater bitch?  
"Y'know if you spent all your nights over at your girlfriend's now you might as well move in with her," Gracie Lou said as soon as she saw Beca entering.  
"Sorry, but I already asked her to move in here. That's gonna be so cozy," Beca gave back.  
"I hope you're joking. I won't live with two dykes, bad enough that I have to live with one!" The blonde glared at her from her bed where she sat with her laptop.  
"Dyke? Do you even know what that means?"  
"It means you fuck girls," Gracie Lou said with a sweet smile.  
"No, dude, it means that I have butch girlfriends who will kick your ass if you keep calling me that," Beca answered and looked earnestly at her roommate.  
"Are you threatening me?"  
"Yes," Beca answered. Gracie Lou just stared at her open-mouthed.  
Beca pulled some clothes out of her closet and left with them and her shower kit in her arms.

When Beca returned from the showers she found somebody waiting for her there, someone unexpected: Aubrey.  
"I thought the redhead was your girlfriend. Does she know that you fuck her best friend behind her back?" Beca looked at Gracie Lou, first irritated but then she smiled.  
"Gracie Lou just called you a lesbian," she addressed Aubrey.  
"I'd rather be a lesbian than a slut," the tall blonde dead-panned. "You have a few minutes? I need to talk to you."  
"Sure, but not here," Beca answered with a look at Gracie Lou.  
"It's not like what you have to say is so damn interesting," the curvy blonde snapped.  
"Then stop commenting on everything I say, Gracie Lou!" Beca slipped into her boots and then she waved at Aubrey to follow her out.  
They went to have some coffee, Beca felt she needed some caffeine for the day that was already dragging on. She hadn't expected to have three meaningful conversations today and she didn't even know what Aubrey wanted from her. But by the look of her it was quite serious.  
"Did you talk to Chloe last night?" She asked.  
"No, I was already asleep when she came home. We talked earlier and she wasn't very happy about what I had to say," Aubrey said. "Did she tell you about that job in Chicago?"  
"Yeah, she told me. It sounds great. But she seems... reluctant to move there," Aubrey nodded. Obviously, Chloe hadn't told Beca that she had turned the job down.  
"You know why, don't you?"  
"She says she's gonna miss... us all, the Bellas." Aubrey gave Beca that look of superiority that she had. It was quite obvious what the blonde thought, that if Beca believed that she was an even greater fool than she had took her for.  
"She's gonna miss you, Beca. She's in love with you, has been for... I don't even know how long but if you ask me, for too long," she told her friend honestly.  
"Alright, I know I've been an idiot, okay? Was that what you wanted to hear?"  
"No, I want to hear that you will talk Chloe out of staying here instead of going to Chicago. She needs to take this job, for herself."  
"But that's what she wants. She's not going to stay... is she?" Aubrey breathed deeply, hard-pressed for patience.  
"She called this guy Davidson yesterday and told him no, she wouldn't work for him. She wants to work for a publisher in Atlanta, to stay close."  
"She didn't tell me that," Beca said. "That's idiotic, this was her dream."  
"Yeah, well. Seems she has another one of those, one that includes you," Aubrey said not unkindly. She pulled the door to the coffee shop open and let Beca enter before her. They both got their respective coffee creation and left again. Beca had a thoughtful expression on her face.  
"Have you talked about... the possibility of being together?" Aubrey asked after awhile.  
"Well, yesterday was actually our first date," Beca answered and smiled a little sadly.  
"It didn't go that well?"  
"It was great until... Jesse appeared," the brunette didn't want to go into last night's details with Aubrey. She was sure that Chloe would fill her in soon enough.  
"Ouch, and how did he take seeing you together?"  
"Not so well, none of us did." Beca pointed to a bench and Aubrey nodded. They sat down.  
"Do you want to be with her, though?" The DJ thought about that question. The answer was almost too easy considering that they were talking about a life-altering decision, about the future, about love. These things shouldn't be decided in a heartbeat, but Beca knew there wasn't really a choice. It was like Cynthia Rose had said: you had to be yourself. And the person Beca was going to be from now on wanted to be with Chloe.  
"Yes, I do. I... I'm in love with her, too," she looked up at Aubrey and her friend smiled.  
"Good for you," she said. "But this will make it more difficult for Chloe to go to Chicago."  
"If she has already turned the job down..."  
"Well, I hope that if she calls Davidson again - today, ideally - and tells him that she had made a mistake that he will still take her on. This is her dream, Beca, the one job she had worked for for three years. She has to take it - she wants to take it. She just doesn't want to leave you," Aubrey explained. Beca nodded, she knew how much this job meant to Chloe. But she also knew that Chloe didn't just want to stay for her. She also wanted to stay for the other Bellas, she loved her friends. And she was afraid that she would be lonely without them - as lonely as she had been when she went to be with her family this summer.  
"I'll talk to her about it," the brunette promised.  
"Good. You're gonna see her later?" Beca nodded.  
"Yeah, but first I'm going to talk to Jesse."  
"Tough day, huh?" The DJ smiled but it looked pained.  
"Tell me about it," she said and they got up off the bench and resumed their leasurely walk around campus until Beca left to see her ex.


	12. Chapter 12

She was waiting for him outside Lindon Hall where his class had just ended. She was holding another cup of coffee and already felt a little queasy, she couldn't tell if it was from not having eaten or in expectation of their talk. She would know after their conversation.  
Jesse sauntered over, leaving some friends he had been talking to.  
"Hey," Beca greeted but Jesse didn't answer, he was obviously angry with her. The text that he had sent her early this morning had merely stated time and place where they could meet today, not a single friendly word. He wanted to play rough - she could handle that.  
Jesse sat down next to her and pulled a water bottle from his backpack. He drank, waiting for her to start the conversation.  
"You wanted to talk," she reminded him.  
"That was before you kissed Chloe. I think I get the picture now," he said.  
"The picture you got is... kinda distorted, actually. But..." Beca thought over what she wanted to say because he was obviously not willing to share his thoughts and feelings anymore. "The way you broke up with me was... it crushed me, Jesse. I don't know why you did that. Can you enlighten me?"  
He took a deep breath. This was his chance to make things right again but it wouldn't lead to where he wanted to go with it - to a new start with Beca. She had moved on, the liplock he had witnessed the night before made that quite clear. The question that now remained was whether he still wanted to talk it all through, defend himself, make amends or... basically behave like a douchebag and brush her off because he was hurt.  
"I was angry, Beca. You kept brushing me off, running to practice or to just be with your friends. I felt... left out of your life. So, I vented... with the guys. I got drunk and was talking about you and then someone came up with this idea. And I thought about it... I mean at first I just wanted to give you an idea of how I felt... not break up with you, just... like you did at the finals. But you kept shutting me out and I thought: This is it, I can't deal with this anymore. And we changed the routine to what you saw," he explained. She nodded. She had hoped that it had been someone else's idea, that he felt bad about it - and he did. It just didn't change anything anymore. They probably should have talked earlier - like after she came back from her visit with Chloe - but she hadn't been ready. Now it was all too late.  
"I know now that it was a stupid idea. And it was mean. I just couldn't help myself at that moment," he continued since Beca didn't say anything.  
"I understand in a way but... comes to show that you should never put an idea born out of drunkenness into action," she tried a smile but it morphed into a grimace.  
"Yeah... the boys are sorry, too, y'know. I think they miss the Bellas around," he offered.  
"Well, I can't talk for the girls. They're pretty pissed at you guys, though," now she grinned and he rolled his eyes at her.  
"Just because I'm sorry doesn't mean that you're off the hook. You did shut me out, y'know," he bristled "And I don't understand. I mean we had this conversation before, remember? Why do you constantly feel the need to shut people out, is it because of your dad?" Beca shook her head, remembering her conversations about this with Chloe.  
"I'm not sure, Jesse. I don't think it's about my dad anymore. At that point it was maybe about something that I wasn't ready to admit to myself, maybe I thought that talking to you about our problems would... unleash that," Beca pondered.  
"Your feelings for Chloe?" He asked and she could see the anger just under the surface.  
"Most likely, yeah," she answered honestly. He breathed deeply, shook his head. He wasn't happy about this, not at all.  
"Then you had feelings for her... did something happen when you were with her last summer? Did she try to seduce you?"  
"NO! Okay? Nothing happened, except... we talked, and we laughed, and we... were together 24/7. And I was happy," Beca confessed and she could clearly see that it hurt Jesse. It implicated too much about their own relationship. That for her it had been lacking something - when he had been happy in it, at least in those first few weeks. "I know this is hard to hear, Jesse, it's hard to look back and know that I've been an idiot. I didn't know that I had feelings for Chloe, not consciously, at least. And I certainly didn't act on them, nor did she. But when I came back... I felt empty and the Bellas were the only way to connect to my feelings for Chloe..."  
She hadn't thought about it this clearly before but it made perfect sense to her now.  
"And then I broke up with you and... she couldn't come running fast enough," he ground out.  
"Yeah, because she's my friend and she wanted to help, not because she wanted to get into my pants as you put so poetically the other day," she gave back.  
"And it's still what she got, right?"  
"Not that it's any of your business but Chloe and I haven't had sex... what you saw yesterday was actually our first kiss," Beca told him and he closed his eyes. He really didn't want to hear this.  
"And she was so happy that I was there to see it," he groused.  
"I know... that was... I didn't know you were there but she had seen you come in. That's why she did it." Jesse looked over at his ex and saw how hurt she was over this detail.   
"You fought?" he asked, reading her demeanour correctly. She just nodded. They sat silently for awhile, each thinking about what had been said. Jesse didn't have to ask whether Beca still wanted to be with Chloe, it was obvious to him. She had been in love with her best friend for months now, not knowing, now that she did know, she wouldn't shy away from her feelings just because they were for another woman.  
"About yesterday... I talked to Cynthia Rose," Beca said and he looked at her questioningly. "About her shoving you. She's not sorry, she actually has a good point. What you said about Chloe wasn't just rude, Jesse, people overheard it. You know that people talk, right? You know that people do stupid things to people who are different.."  
"Oh, come on, there were only like... five people hearing that," he defended himself.  
"Yeah, five people who have five friends who have five friends and so on. And one of them is a maniac homophobe who has no qualms about hurting people," she told him. "A friend of CR has been hurt that way, badly hurt. That's why she pushed you. And she's right, you can't just go around saying stuff about people, whether it is true or not.. not something like that, at least. You outed Chloe." He thought about her words.  
"I guess I did... damn, you know I wouldn't normally... I didn't think..."  
"I know. Next time you should make sure that you do." He nodded thoughtfully.  
Beca put her hands into her lap, ready to get up. She felt better but her stomach seemed to actually require sustenance.  
"Well, maybe we can arrange something... maybe another riff-off to bring the groups back together?" She asked.  
"That might be good, sure," he answered. He knew she was ready to finish this conversation but he still had something to say to her and he knew if he didn't say it now he wouldn't have the chance or the guts to say it in the future. "I still love you, Beca," he blurted out and she looked at him surprised, and not pleasantly so. "I mean... I love you. You're... I... God!"  
"Jesse..."  
"No, I know you like Chloe but... you liked me, too, right? So, maybe... there's still a chance for us. Please, think about it," he pleaded.  
"I don't want to give you any hope, Jesse. I...," she closed her eyes for a moment and he took this as a chance to touch her face very gently. She took his hand but simply laid it back onto the bench. "I'm in love with Chloe. And, yes, I like you but... maybe we should have just been friends all along."  
It hit him hard, she could see it. She wasn't just admitting to having had feelings for Chloe when she visited her in Massachusetts but probably the whole time they were together, even when she had sung that song to him at the finals. It felt like cheap revenge to him but it was actually just her need to be completely honest now that she knew the truth.  
"You more than liked me, Beca, you loved me," he stated stubbornly. She didn't answer him. "You did," he repeated and got up off the bench. He picked up his backpack and slung it over one shoulder and just stood there for a moment, looking at her. She answered his look with her own and he wanted so much to see something in them, some residue of what he had once seen there, love, devotion, fondness... but her blue eyes were dull for him. He was just some guy she had kissed for some time. He wasn't even her first love.  
Jesse turned and walked away.

Chloe had texted her to come by at Aubrey's anytime that day, she would be waiting for her. Strangely, now that she was on her way - after having had a chocolate muffin - Beca was very eager to see Chloe and she knocked on Aubrey's apartment door only half an hour after Jesse had left her .  
The door opened to a tired-looking Chloe who tried a small smile when she saw Beca. The brunette came in and, stopping beside Chloe, she kissed her on the cheek.  
"I'm so sorry," Chloe said and put her arms around Beca's neck. The smaller girl pulled her close without a second's thought. They simply hugged and it felt like the right thing to do after their fight.  
"Let's sit down and talk about this, okay?" Beca said after awhile and Chloe nodded. She went toward the kitchen but Beca looked at the couch in the living room, so, they settled down there. It was much more comfortable. Beca took Choe's hand in hers, she felt that she needed the contact.  
"I'm sorry I behaved like an ass," Chloe started their conversation. "I... I've been jealous of Jesse since you guys first got together and... I guess, I thought... you might yet be going back to him," she confessed. Beca looked at her thoughtfully.  
"You should have known better," she finally said and Chloe nodded.  
"Yeah, I should have but... no, no buts, I should have known better. Jealousy is so stupid and I'm usually not jealous... just..."  
"How long have you had feelings for me?" Beca asked and Chloe looked at her. She hesitated. It seemed to all come down to this question between them and she thought that maybe it would also be a deal-breaker. Would Beca freak when she knew the truth?  
"Pretty much from the moment I first saw you," she confessed, her voice little more than a whisper, her head bowed and looking at their combined hands.  
"But... that was at that activities fair..." Beca contemplated.  
"Yeah, I thought you were cute and... Aubrey was dead set against you. And then I heard you sing in the shower... and then we sang together and that just... undid me," she breathed. She finally looked up into Beca's eyes.  
"Your lady jam," the brunette stated.  
"Yeah, but not just that... I mean, it did do things to me..." Chloe bit her lower lip to keep from giggling and she saw Beca blush a sweet shade of pink. "But it was more than just... hot, it was... harmony and density and substance. I don't know, I've never felt such a strong connection before. I guess you didn't feel the same, though," she added a little sadly.  
"I was a little too embarrassed to feel much of anything, though our voices... we sounded really good together."  
"That's why I brought you to a karaoke bar yesterday. I wanted to sing with you, I wanted to see... if you maybe felt it, too," Chloe said. Beca lifted her hand to Chloe's face and carressed her cheek.  
"I'm already feeling it, Chlo, and it has nothing to do with sounding good together. I have felt it for some time, I just... I was an idiot not to have seen it earlier. And I'm sorry that I hurt you," Beca leaned in but stopped short of touching her lips to Chloe's. Instead her thumb lightly brushed over the redhead's lips. Electricity began to fill the room as Beca saw Chloe close her eyes, enjoy her touch. She felt the power she had over her friend but also the spell Chloe had put on her. She couldn't take her eyes off her, couldn't stop touching her now that she started. This was the stuff that made jealousy, if not understandable, excusable.  
Beca took her thumb from Chloe's lips, cupped her cheek and kissed her. And this kiss was even better because there was no one else to see, no noises, no music, nothing but two lovers who felt the connection of lips, of hands, of tongues... of hearts.

They kissed, they made out, they groped at each other's clothes and then Beca found herself lying on top of Chloe, her hand relishing in the warmth of her skin under her shirt.  
"Hmmmm, we could..." Chloe murmured between kisses. "take this to my room, maybe?" She could feel Beca retreating slightly, though she didn't get up or ran screaming into the night - not yet, at least. "Or not," she backpaddeled.  
"I..." Beca pulled her hand from under Chloe's clothes.  
"I didn't mean to jump on you like this," Chloe apologized though from their position it was clear that she wasn't the one doing the jumping. Beca bit her lip.  
"I don't think you have anything to apologize for on that regard," she said and sat up. Chloe sighed in regret but sat up as well. They were still close, their legs touching and Beca found that she couldn't keep her hands from reaching out to Chloe. Their hands started carressing each other.  
"I'm sorry if this feels like I'm just a big tease," Beca said.  
"No, Becs, never apologize for that. I know that you've never been with anyone and that's alright. Don't feel bad about wanting to experience things on your terms. I'm not saying that I don't wanna be with you... but my needs are less important just now than your comfort zone."  
"I didn't know that I would wanna... I..." Beca blushed when she tried to convey exactly what she had wanted to do - but now felt herself unable to do. There was a gap between what she wanted and what she felt capable of. It was a frustrating realization. She wasn't ready to be with Chloe.  
"It's okay, come here," Chloe opened her arms to Beca and the brunette let herself be held. "We've got time." She promised the next moment and that brought back to Beca the conversation she had had with Aubrey earlier in the day and that she had said that she would talk to Chloe about that.  
"But you're leaving soon for Chicago," she heard herself say and felt Chloe stiffen slightly.  
"Maybe not," she said. Beca pulled away from Chloe and looked at her. "I... I have turned down the job."  
"I know, Aubrey told me."  
"Aubrey... she... damn, I wanted to tell you myself. It's not her place to do that," Chloe bristled.  
"She is worried that you're throwing away your dream - for me," Beca defended their friend.  
"That's not what I'm doing, Becs. I...," but she stopped. She breathed in deeply and let it out in an explosion of her frustration with Aubrey. She didn't want to fight with Beca - again. They had just made up. "Okay, listen. I turned the job down and yes, part of that has to do with... what is happening between you and I but that's not all of it. I... have thought about going to Chicago when I applied for the job. I... didn't tell anyone but I had my doubts even then. Don't get me wrong, the job is... exactly what I want. But moving to Chicago?... I know I can always make friends, I've always been able to..." Chloe halted again and shook her head.  
"What is it?" Beca lifted Choe's chin so that she would look at her again.  
"I don't usually talk about this... I feel like... I'm being unfair but sometimes... It feels like people don't get me, even my family. I mean I love them, my parents love me and my brothers and we're this happy family... but... I was always a little bit too exuberant, too enthusiasic. I like people and I... have a little problem with bounderies, I don't understand them... and then they make fun of me, not in a mean way, just..." Chloe shrugged her shoulders. "It's not exactly hurtful, it's just that it makes me feel different from everybody else. Aubrey treats me like that, too, like I only see the good in people and she needs to protect me. But I don't need protection, I just wanna be who I am and with you... and with the other Bellas I can just be myself. You guys don't make fun of me. I thought at first you would - you're so cynical and cool and a DJ... I thought you would think me weird but... you opened up to me."  
"I did," Beca said and smiled. "Completely unaccustomed as that was for me... probably because you opened up to me first. When you said that thing... that we were going to be fast friends... I thought that was a really nice thought and I liked that you shared it with me."  
"It's what I do and it's what people think is weird about me. And when I move to Chicago, I will make friends and they will like me but they will also think I'm strange for saying and doing things... that they're not comfortable with. But if I stay here... I can be with you guys and not feel weird because you get me, y'know?" Beca nodded, she did know. None of the Bellas had ever said that she was too closed off or cold. They respected her bounderies - well, except for Chloe and that was just Chloe. And it wasn't a problem because... they were together, or would be...  
"So, you're staying?" Beca asked.  
"Well, not right here. I'm gonna work in Atlanta at a publishing house. I talked to the publisher there this morning. It's a great job, really, not ideal like the one in Chicago but I know I will be much happier because I can see you and the others more often. Like at least every weekend. You'll get positively sick of me being around all the time," she grinned.  
"Not gonna happen, Beale," Beca gave back and leaned in for a short kiss. "Are you sure about this? Aubrey is convinced, you'll gonna be miserable if you don't take that job in Chicago."  
"I'll be miserable if I do take it, I'm sure. I wanna stay close, as close as I can get, actually," Chloe slipped her hand under Beca's top and around her waiste. The brunette gasped at the intimate touch. Chloe pulled her close and they started kissing again.


	13. Chapter 13

Kissing Chloe felt different, Beca couldn't help but know. It was intense. Beca was very aware of each touch, each shift, each little nip and lick and tug at her lips and tongue. It all went straight to her core. She's never been so incredibly turned on by a mere make-out session. And she's never wanted more of everything like she did right now.  
Chloe was happy to comply, careful not to overwhelm Beca but still able to give what she wanted. It felt almost lazy the way they were simply kissing and touching each other, but then there was a certain amount of eagerness and excitement. Chloe could almost believe it was the first time she did this because she was sure that it was the first time Beca felt so intensely. The brunette elicited little moans and sounds of pleasure, her touch lingering on every fresh patch of skin she discovered. It drove Chloe wild but at the same time it made her more sensitive to Beca's inexperience and she mirrored Beca's action rather than exploring things on her own.  
Beca's right hand was carressing the warm, soft skin just over Chloe's navel having pushed ther redhead's shirt up under her breasts. Chloe's own hand was carressing Beca's back under her top, her left hand held Beca's face close to her, their legs were entwined. And that's how Aubrey and Amy found them that afternoon.  
"Upsi-daisy," Amy said when she entered the living room infront of her friend. Beca practicalls jumped off the couch but found herself unable to stand and sank back onto the cushions.  
"Whoa, there, you okay?" Chloe sat up and touched Beca's arm  
"Yeah, just a little dizzy," the brunette offered.  
"No wonder, all your blood just went from down under to your head in like a second," Amy volunteered and grinned. Beca blushed an even darker shade and had to admit that Amy had a point.  
"I get you some water," Aubrey volunteered while Chloe busied herself with setting her clothes back in order. Then she pushed herself from her stretched out position and sat next to Beca instead of behind her. Amy came over and sat down in an armchair.  
"So, you guys... that looked like someone's finally over their douchbag ex-boyfriend," she started a conversation.  
"I guess you could say that," Beca admitted. "I talked to Jesse earlier and told him... about us." She said to Chloe.  
"You talked to him?"  
"Yeah, I wanted to tell you earlier but... I got kinda sidetracked."  
"Can't imagine why," Amy murmured when Aubrey appeared with some glasses and a water bottle. She put them on the table and filled them for everybody. Her friends thanked her and Beca drank her whole glass. She felt instantly better.  
"What did he say?" Chloe asked.  
"He wasn't happy, as you can imagine. I guess he was hoping that... we could get back together. But I pretty much shot him down," Beca told her friends.  
"Good for you," Aubrey said. "After what he's done, he can be happy that you're still talking to him at all."  
"I've made mistakes, too, you know. Actually I made the biggest mistake when I got together with him... because I had feelings for Chloe and was too chicken to admit to them - or too stupid to even see that I had them," Beca disagreed.   
"That's all over now, you can't really blame yourself for that," Chloe told her girlfriend.  
"Yeah, but I also can't blame Jesse... I treated him badly and he simply reacted the only way he felt he could," Beca kept defending her ex.  
"Like a douchebag? Because that's how he behaved," Amy stated and Aubrey nodded. Beca sighed, this conversation wasn't going anywhere, they talked in circles.  
"It doesn't matter now, it's all over with him."  
"And Chloe's in. That's much better, too, I always thought you were cute together," Amy volunteered.  
"You always thought that? Did everyone know but me?"  
"Pretty much," the Tasmanian said and nodded enthusiastically. Chloe grinned, Aubrey laughed outright.  
"I'm such an idiot. Why do you even like me?"  
"Must be your looks," Chloe joked. "And, of course, that cleavage of yours pretty much had me mesmerized from the start." She was laughing now whie Beca blushed again. She hid her face in one hand.  
"Which isn't that much of an accomplishment. Even I hardly knew where else to look at your audition," Aubrey threw in and Beca stared at her open-mouthed.  
"Oh, not you too, 'Brey? Am I the only fairly straight one with the Bellas?"  
"Fairly straight, Amy? What does that mean, fairly straight?" Chloe asked grinning.  
"I might have had one or two indiscretions when I was really young," came the answer in Amy's costumary mumble as she looked anywhere around the room but at her friends.  
"Then I'm the straightest one in the room, because I've never even kissed a girl," Aubrey informed them.  
"If all girls kiss like Chloe that's not exactly something to brag about, though," Beca contemplated which earned her a peck from the redhead.  
"Girls are great kissers. You should try it, 'Brey. I'm pretty sure there would be plenty of Bellas who'd volunteer," Chloe told her friend.  
"You'd better not be among them," Beca said in mock jealousy.  
"I'm not a Bella anymore," Chloe gave back and the DJ smiled at her.  
"Sad but true," Amy said. "I mean, not because of the kissing business but... you know, because of the Bellas. I miss you at practice, and I'm pretty sure the short stuff here misses you... and all the others, too." Chloe reached her hand out and patted Amy's knee.  
"I miss you guys, too. And that's why I have decided to take a job in Atlanta so that I can visit more often. How does that sound?"  
"That sounds aca-awesome, red," Amy smiled and looked over at Aubrey who didn't look happy about this revelation. "Or not?"  
"I thought you would talk to her about this?" Aubrey snapped at Beca.  
"We did, and I've come to see Chloe's point, 'Brey," the brunette answered calmly.  
"Was that before or after she slipped her tongue into your mouth?" Aubrey asked sarcastically.  
"Aubrey! Damn! Could you please stop that?" Chloe turned to her friend, looking at her angrily. "This is my decision, and I've decided to not go."  
"If you stay here just to make Beca happy, it isn't exactly your decision, though, is it?"  
"I'm not doing this for Beca, 'Brey, I'm doing this for me. I want to be close to you, to all of you because... you guys are my friends and I need you," Chloe tried to reason with her friend.  
"What you need is a reality check. That job in Chicago is your dream, you worked too hard for that to just give up on it," Aubrey told her.  
"It was my dream and... that's probably the problem. Dreams don't come true..."  
"But this one could come true for you. You could just call Davidson and tell him that you reconsidered and then you could go, live your dream, Chloe. What are you afraid of?" The tall blonde asked.  
"I'm afraid of losing myself, of losing my friends, and yes, of losing Beca when I've just found her." Chloe pleaded. She got off the couch and came over to Aubrey, kneeling infront of her and taking her hand in hers. "I know you think I'm a child..."  
"I don't thnk you're a child. You're a strong, capable woman," Aubrey disagreed.  
"Then respect my decision, 'Brey. I know I will be happier here than in Chicago. And I'll be having a good job but what's more important to me - I'll still have all of you in my life."  
"It's not like I want you gone, I just want for you to be... the best you can possibly be," her friend told Chloe.  
"And I was never better than when I was a Bella," Chloe smiled. "And I was never happier than when you all became my friends," she added. She saw Aubrey's eyes fill with tears and she knew that this was exactly how their former captain felt, too. Aubrey could have found another job easily, she had said that she would take the job with the university and would keep looking for something better. But Chloe knew that Aubrey hadn't looked, that she was happy to still be near her friends. Part of Aubrey's hope had been that Chloe would fulfill her dream because she felt that she was abandoning hers. It was now so clear to the redhead, and she pulled her friend out of her seat and hugged her tightly because she understood now.  
"I love you so much, 'Brey," Chloe said.  
"There's really no need to become this sentimental," her friend admonished but she couldn't help the blush nor the smile that spread over her face.  
"Awww, group hug," Amy gushed, jumped up from her seat and threw her arms around the two former Bellas. Beca laughed and joined in a moment later.  
"No touching of sensitive parts, Mitchell, I'm watching you," Aubrey stated.  
"Don't worry, yours aren't the parts I'll have my hands on," Beca gave back.  
"Uhhh," Chloe made and they all laughed together.  
When they parted, Aubrey said:  
"I'm happy for you two, you know? Just... with the semis coming up and all, could you please not make the Bellas performance about your newfound love? I think we should all agree that nothing good comes out of that."  
"Well, we won the finals with a performance like that," Beca argued.  
"Yeah, and it broke Chloe's heart, too, so..."  
"Point taken," the Bellas captain agreed as she sat down next to her girlfriend.  
Her girlfriend. That was a pleasant thought, new but very pleasant. And so was the sight of the beautiful redhead. It filled Beca with wonder and happiness and other stuff she had yet to get used to. She hoped it would take awhile. She wanted to experience this thing slowly and deliberately. She wanted to enjoy it and leave all the confusion and denial behind her. They had lost time, she knew, because she had been blind. Now that she could see her feelings clearly, that she could see Chloe clearly and was able to look without fear, she wanted to do little else. Beca grinned at her thoughts, they were so sappy. Who knew love would feel like this?  
"Hey," Chloe roused her from her thoughts.  
"Yeah?"  
"You're staring," she told Beca but smiled at her.  
"Get used to it."


	14. Chapter 14

Epilogue

Chloe grinned broadly as she slipped into the already occupied shower stall, unnoticed by its occupant. Same occupant's singing sobered her rather quickly, though, it was horrible. The redhead made a face then established a neutral expression before she cleared her throat.  
Gracie Lou Van Borden whipped around and started screeching:  
"What the fuck! What are you doing in my shower, you perv?! Get out!!"  
"Calm your titties, GL, I'm not here for that. I have better taste than that. I wanna talk to you," Chloe calmy observed and the curvy blonde looked at her like she was mad.  
"This is a shower, you dimwit. If you wanna talk wait till I'm finished."  
"No, I think this is actually a good time, you know, no secrets and all," Chloe grinned and casually leaned forward to shut the water down.  
"You're such a perv, wait till I tell Beca what you've done," the blonde snapped.  
"Oh, Beca's used to that. I hadn't even known her five minutes before I joined her in the shower. Of course, she's a much better singer than you are, also: hotter. And while we're at the topic of Beca, that's why I'm here," Chloe sobered instandly and actually took a step closer to Gracie Lou. "Lay off her!" she told the blonde and stared her down. While Gracie Lou was half a head taller than Chloe, she was also very busy covering her body as best she could and Chloe's presence, her unselfconscious demeanour while she was stark naked was quite impressive. But not too mpressive for Gracie Lou to retort:  
"Or what? Are you going to sponge me to death?" Chloe smiled.  
"No," she answered. "but..." and she took a step back and pulled the shower curtain open. Outside stood five very naked, very fierce looking Bellas: Amy, Cynthia Rose, Stacie, Jessica, and Kerry. "...they might."  
This finally left Beca's roommate speechless.  
"You might not be aware of this but Beca is a member of the Barden Bellas and if you don't lay off her these lovely ladies will make their power known. And you won't like it, believe me. You should know that Jessica here writes for the Barden Bards Daily, Cynthia Rose writes her own blog on all things Barden University, and Amy... well, she knows people."  
"And those people spread gossip faster than you can say: 'That's not true', babe," Amy offered with a smile.  
"That's..."  
"What? Unfair? Gracie Lou, let's face it, you have treated Beca unfairly since you came to live with her. And that pisses us off, so, deal with it. And you better change that ringtone on your phone mighty quick or mentioned phone might feel inclined to drown itself one of these days," Chloe threatened.  
"I'm gonna tell what you did here. I'm gonna tell that you sexually herrassed me in the shower," Gracie Lou said but she didn't sound like her old bitchy self anymore, she seemed disheartened.  
"Oh, bitch, please. Not if you paid me," Cynthia Rose said and looked first at Gracie Lou then at her naked friends. "There's five women here I'd rather sexually herrass than your overused white ass."  
"That's so sweet, CR," Chloe said. "Anyway, just leave Beca alone from now on."  
"Are we finished here, now, I feel a wave of lesbionic feelings coming up and I promised my ma I wouldn't do that anymore," Amy mumbled.  
"Wait, you had pussy?" Stacie asked and she sounded impressed.  
"Yeah, but I'm the only one in my family who can provide healthy if slightly obese off-spring. My cousins are all pretty weird and nobody would procreate with them."  
"Let's go then," Chloe agreed. The Bellas picked up their towels and covered themselves while Gracie Lou still stared after them. Had this just happened? Could she even tell anyone? Would anyone believe something this weird? Probably not.  
Chloe and Cynthia Rose were the last to leave the room with the shower stalls, Cynthia Rose held the door for her friend.  
"I will never forget the look on her face," and the dark-skinned Bella imitated Gracie Lou's expression. Chloe grinned.  
"I know, I should have brought my phone to take a picture," she agreed.  
"We did good in there, didn't we?"  
"Hell, yeah." They smiled as they walked over to Beca's room where they had left their clothes.  
"Ding, dong, the bitch is dead," Cynthia Rose sang and Chloe laughed.  
"By the way, what is going on between you and Jessica?" Cynthia Rose looked questioningly at the redhead. "I saw her looking at you in there. I think you should tap that," Chloe advised and her friend blushed slightly.  
"I already have. We're kinda dating," she admitted. Chloe squealed delightedly.  
"That's awesome, CR. I'm so happy. Is it a secret, though?"  
"No, we were gonna tell the Bellas at the next practice, so..." Chloe smiled brightly and then hugged her friend.  
"I'm so happy," the redhead said and then became aware of people staring at them, two towel-clad women standing in the hall hugging each other. "Oh, please, it's just two dykes having a heart-to-heart. Get you minds out of the gutter," she told them and Cynthia Rose giggled.  
The two women joined their friends in Beca's room where everyone redressed. Then they set out for pizza.  
Beca never knew what her friends did for her that day, she only knew that Gracie Lou didn't talk to her anymore than was necessary and if she did she was overly polite. Beca didn't complain, she could be civil but she had already decided that she wouldn't live in a dorm her last year. She would move in with a Bella - or maybe even with an ex-Bella if things progressed the way she wanted them to. And things looked very much like they would.


End file.
